


Stranger Things: Chapter One

by Gr8PwrGr8Rspnsblty



Category: IT - Stephen King, Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Beverly is a Good Friend, Eddie is Eleven, Eddie needs a hug, Everyone is a Good Friend, F/M, Gay Richie Tozier, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Precious Eddie, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Some Reddie, Stan deserves better, Stranger Things AU, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, cause why not, he just doesn’t know it, loser club - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2020-10-27 01:17:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20751935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gr8PwrGr8Rspnsblty/pseuds/Gr8PwrGr8Rspnsblty
Summary: After Georgie Denbrough goes missing, Bill and the Loser’s set out to find him. Only they’d find more than Georgie. They get pulled into this long winding road of lies, superpowered kid’s, bullies, conspiracies, and a supernatural monster.This is the very start of a fate, the losers aren’t sure they want to meet.OrA Stranger Things AU featuring Reddie





	1. The Mysterious Disappearance of Georgie Denbrough

The lights flickered.

Down the windowless corridor rang a siren. Louder than a child’s scream, cutting through the air with a bullet. Nearly as loud as the sirens, a low rumble captivated the room, getting closer by the second. 

There’s a door, metal and big. Without a second to waste, it flew open. A scientist, breathing heavily, rushed out. His lab coat flapping in the wind as his feet carried him down the corridor. His heart beating faster than a car engine, he ran as if his life depended on it. He kept glancing, checking to see if anybody or  _ anything _ followed him. 

_ Faster. Faster. Faster. _

The scientists rounds the corner, rushing into a freight elevator. He pressed the button rependently, trying to make the elevator come faster. 

The elevator arrives, opening its doors.

So close to safety he jumped inside, slamming it finger onto the top floor button. He waits for the doors to close, watching the lights flicker off one by one. 

“ _ Leaving so soon? _ ” 

The scientists body froze in shock. All the man could do was lookup. His eyes seem to register a familiar sight as they blew wide open. 

Before he could react to the sight above, he was sucked up towards the ceiling. His legs kicked in midair as a scream echoed through the corridor.

  
  


* * *

  
  


_ “Here’s Johnny!” _

“AHHHHH!” 

The whole gang screamed as an ax was driven through the wall and a face poked out on screen. Richie immediately tried to play his cool by acting as if he wasn’t frightened and let out the girliest high pitch scream. 

However his friends on the other hand weren’t too keen on letting him pass. “R-Richie w-was sc-scared too!” Bill pointed out, wearing a dumb smile on his face. 

“Was not!” Richie scoffed. “Why would I be scared of this lame ass movie?” Deep down knew he was talking out of his house but never would he ever admit he was afraid. 

“Just admit it, you were scared!” Beverly smacked her friends shoulder, trying to get him to be honest. However it didn’t work, he still rolled his eyes. 

“No way! I’m not little pussys like you guys!” 

“So you admit that you won’t admit you’re scared!” Beverly had a knowing smirk. 

Richie couldn’t help but feel cheated.

Suddenly out of nowhere Georgie, Bill’s little brother, comes toppling inside the room holding tightly in his hands a boat he made with Bill prior. He wore his raincoat and boots telling everyone he was about to head outside.

“Billy!” 

Billy seemed a tad annoyed that his brother was interrupting their hangout sessions. However he didn’t let that show to his baby brother he wore a bright smile.

“Wanna come try out my boat with me?!” 

“S-S-Sorry Ge-Georgie, I’m s-sick re-remember?” His brother seemed disappointed, his body deflating at the fact he couldn’t play with his favorite brother. However Georgie quickly revived from it though telling his brother, “it’s okay Billy!”

“Th-Thanks Georgie.” 

“I’m sure she’s gonna be fast! I’m sad you’re gonna miss it though…”

“It’s o-okay Ge-Georgie, next time it ra-rains you can show me.”

“Alright! See yah!” As Georgie left the room, Bill looked back. 

“Be ca-careful!” 

Soon enough the energetic child was gone and the group went back to the movie. However Bill stood up, glancing out his window to see his brother dash out. Georgie must’ve had eyes on the back of his head since he looked at right at him and wave. Bill returned the gesture.

“He’s gonna be fine Bill,” Beverly reassured the worrying teen.

That seemed to put Bill as ease a bit and he joined his friends once again. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Georgie was excited.

His brother helped make him the coolest boat that could float! S.S.A. Georgie they called her! He could hardly contain his excitement as he placed the makeshift craft in the boat. 

Just like Bill had said, it floated! 

It also was super fast.

Georgie dashes after it, chasing his boat. He laughed with glee to see his big brother was telling the truth! 

As the boat picked up speed, so did he. He even had trouble keeping up! 

Distracted by his own childish excitement, he failed to see the construction hurdle coming closer. He banged his head on it, causing him to fall backwards. Dazed for a moment, he reached to rub his now aching head. That’s when he noticed his boat racing towards the sewer. 

“No!” 

Georgie threw himself up, trying to reach SSA Georgie before she could float inside but he was too late. 

“No! Bill’s gonna kill me!” Georgie looked down the sewer hole, trying to see if he could find his boat but there was nothing.

  
  
  


“ _ Hiya Georgie. _ ”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Suddenly, out of nowhere, Bill’s door swings open and in walks his mother. This caused the oldest of the crew to groan. 

“M-Mom! We’re wa-watching a m-movie!”

“You mean  _ were _ .”

“J-Just a few more mi-minutes-“

“It’s a school night Bill. You know the rules.” Bill looked at his friends with a pout. His mother walks away, muttering under her breath, “ _ Now where’s Georgie…? _ ”

  
  
  


As the Loser Club moves to the garage, Bill watched his friends get ready to bike away when Richie walks in holding a pizza box. 

The kid’s give him a strange look.

“What? I’m not about to let this delicious masterpiece go to waste!” 

“That’s  _ gross _ , man,” Mike told him, shaking his head yet laughing it off. 

Richie flip the Loser off before tossing the box into the trash and stuffing the last slice in his mouth. 

Stan and Mike were the first to go, waving their respective goodbyes. Then Beverly and Ben. Leaving him and Richie as the loser picked up his bike with his greasy grubby fingers. 

“N-Night Ri-Richie-“

“Night, sleep tight, and don’t let the bed demons bite.” 

“I-It’s the be-bed bu-bu-bugs asshole…”

“Huh. I always get the two confused, especially when I’m in bed with your m-“

“ _ B-Beep Beep _ , Richie.” 

Richie biked off, wearing his familiar douche smile that Bill learned over the years to get used to. As he watched the last of his friends go, he turned to go back into the house when his mom walked out from the front door, her eyes frantic.

  
  


“ _ Georgie! _ ” She called out, holding her head like she was about to cry. Then after her came out his father who jump out yelling, “ _ Georgie! Time to come home! _ ”

Bill couldn’t help but feel a pit in his stomach as he looked over at the dark street. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


The Loser Gang (minus one) ride their bikes to school that day, parking them in the rack. They seemed to stop, glance around, looking for something that wasn’t there. 

“....I don’t see him anywhere.  _ Weird _ ,” Bev states.

Her gaze seemed to linger on the parking lot, waiting to see Bill come speeding in on his bike and tell him he overslept. 

“Maybe he overslept,” Mike tried to reason. Stan seemed to be okay with the idea their friend overslept, nodding his head in agreement. 

“Maybe he’s in class-he’s always paranoid that you know who is gonna give them a quiz,” Richie tells his friends, clearly not worried about his friend just yet. 

Beverly felt slightly better at the thought, nodding her head. The crew were about to roll up to class when suddenly they heard,

“Look out everyone, it’s the retard club!” 

The crew turned around to see Bowers and his airhead gang approaching them. They don’t run, they don’t bow their heads, and they didn’t kiss ass. The losers just freezes for a moment, Beverly included. Though it was a regular occurrence, the kids still froze like a deer in headlights.

“Wonder who’d make more money in the circus...fatso, midnight, or the slut?” 

“How about your moth-”

Ben covered Richie’s mouth, keeping him from getting them all killed. That only seemed to make them laugh as their gang pushed through them, purposely knocking into their shoulders. When they were a far enough distance simultaneously they all breathed, their shoulders falling in relief. Beverly on the other hand look like she was ready for blood.

“You guys should stick up for yourselves instead of putting your head in the sand,” She tells them before storming off with a ticked off expression.

“What went up her ass?” Richie pushed up his glasses watching the redhead go. 

The crew groaned, walking away from their four eyed friend. Richie stood still for a moment before chasing after his crew. As they walked, Ben looked towards where Bev went wanting to follow. However, he found himself walking away, convincing himself it was better to leave her be. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


_ “What was he wearing last?” _

_ “Was he acting weird lately? Stopped eating, isolated, moody?” _

_ “Are you sure he’s missing?” _

Bill sat on his bed, staring out the window at the officer in the yard talking to his parents. In his hand he held one of his baby brother’s toys. It was his lego turtle that they built together. Well mostly him since Georgie kept putting the wrong pieces together and blatantly ignored the instruction book. That was the difference between them. Georgie was every kid perfect idea of a kid. Happy go lucky with no cares. Meanwhile he was everyone's nightmare. He was meticulous, quiet and had a speech impediment. They balanced eachother out perfectly. 

Now that balance was gone. 

Bill thought about the last time he saw his brother, watching him from the same exact window and waving goodbye to him. If he had known he’d disappear he would’ve held onto him, gone with him out. 

It started to pour outside and his parents followed the sheriff to presumably the garage. 

Bill had to find his brother. It was his fault to begin with. He let him out and now he had to find him. 

The oldest brother stood, grabbing his raincoat and running out of his room. Down the stairs and into the living room he made his way out the back, grabbing his bike that was left standing since last night. He hopped on, riding out into the pouring rain. 

Bill called out for his brother, but nobody heard. It was like an echo to him that faded into nothing. He went street to street, eyes skimming the neighborhood passing construction signs and sewer drains. His lungs burned and his skin was icy cold but he kept going. 

Because he couldn’t face to see what would happen if he stopped.

  
  


* * *

  
  


A group of men entered a lab. 

They swept the area, checking every open space. All over the walls, something had grown. It was fleshy and moldy-like growth. It covered nearly the entire space making the atmosphere dense and hard to see through. It was like a thing of nightmares.

“ _ Doctor Shepard and Doctor Braun were over there, Doctor Wilkins and Doctor Manning over there… _ ”

The scientists gesture to observation room. 

“..myself and Doctor Kaspbrak were over there.” There was a light through the fog, presumably one of the agents scouring the area. Through the fog something moved. It once beat, liked a pulsing heart. Fleshy mold-like growths smothering the entire wall, alive, wet, throbbing. In the center of this growth, there was something. It was huge, engulfing the area where there should be a wall. It was open wide, split in the center. 

It was a rift.

Or now, what was left of one. The walls splashed with black, like a bomb went off inside.

“ _ ....This is where it came from? _ ”

Doctor Kaspbrak nods, barely surprised by the gigantic hole. 

“ _ ...And the boy? _ ”

“He can’t have gone far.” The Agent’s below gawked at the rift, their attention drawn away from the isolation tank. It was upright and had a clear window through it. It’s filled with water, but nobody’s inside. 

At least not anymore. 

  
  



	2. Benny’s Burgers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Welcome to Benny’s Burgers, the best food joint by Hawkins. Can’t miss it. It’s too die for!”

** _‘BENNY'S BURGER AND ICE CREAM’_ **

The rundown restaurant was quiet, barely any life around. Only thing that could be seen was a truck sitting in the parking lot waiting for it’s owner's return. The sign was hard to read and faded. It was life less.

However from a distance two little feet stood, facing the restaurant. 

A child stood, staring at the building intrigued, the scent intoxicating. A boy, the ripe age of maybe eleven. His short hair was strewed around, waving whatever direction. His skin covered in dirt but underneath pale as a sheet. His only piece of clothing a tattered hospital gown with mud. Her eyes made him look like a wild animal than a child. 

Suddenly from the backdoors out came a man. He has sleeve tattoos, a greasy apron wrapped around his waist. He’s carrying a black bag full of trash, oblivious to the set of eyes on him. 

The boy watches closely, taking in every detail of the man and his actions like he was trying to memorize or understand their actions. 

The man dumps the trash, heading back inside to tend to his restaurant. 

  
  


From the screen doors, the boy creeps in sliding the door open and goes inside. He notices the man from outside talking to somebody. 

“ _ He's gonna win us the championship, I just know - _ ”

He ignores it, finding himself wandering into the kitchen. 

The boy notices the basket of fries left. He stares at it, his nose scrunching up at the sight as he stared at the squishy creation. Hesitantly, he put one in his mouth. The saltiness he felt right away, the flavor just exploding, his eyes brightened as the hunger craved more. He stuffed more and more in. As he chewed, his eyes wandered to look around when he notices soap by the sink. With one more glance at the basket of fries and soap, he stuffed more fries into his mouth before reaching for the bottle.

“HEY!”

The sudden noise made the kid jump. He grabbed the fries and soap before bolting. He blows through the swing doors and out the kitchen. He races for the back door but was too late as a big pair of strong arms wrapped around his arms. 

“Think you can steal from me, boy?!”

The fries were scattered on the ground as the man whirled him around.

The boy writhes in his arms, alarmed, trying to tear free but he holds him tight. But his expression softens as he realizes that it was a kid. It's also not a kid either, not exactly, at least not like any he has ever seen. 

“What the hell…?”

Finally the kid stops struggling, locking eyes with the store owner. 

  
  
  


* * *

_ _

_ RING! _

Kids jumped out of their seats, lifting themselves as if there was a fire lit underneath them. The teacher turned around, annoyed but otherwise glad as the kids swarmed out to head to their next period.

“Well there goes ninety mintues of my life down the drain,” Richie sighed as he shot up from his chair, turning to Stan who sat behind. 

Stan wasn’t up and running like all the other kids. He made sure to be respectful by writing down the notes on the board. This made the other loser sighed dramatically as he waited for his friend to be done. When he was then did he pack up.

“ _ Nerd _ ,” Richie teased as they walked out together. 

“ _ No _ , I’m just being a good student.” As the two walked out, one by one they were joined by their friends until they were all together again. They were heading towards the lunchroom when they spotted the sheriff standing across the hall from them. He seemed to be speaking to the principal and it seemed serious. 

The crew seemed to slow down and eventually pause at the otherside. The principal finished saying something to the sheriff before looking at the group. His expression stiff as he gestured for them to come.

“Aw shit.”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


“So you were watching movies?”

  
  


All the kids were squished into the couch, staring up at the sheriff. They seem antsy and ready to talk. The Sheriff and Principal sat on the other side across. 

“Yeah! It was movie night and-”

“We had just gotten back from the store after buying snacks-”

“After that we biked home-”

“Yeah! Then we ordered pizza-”

  
  


Sheriff Bowers didn’t seem interested in the specifics. Actually he didn’t seem that investigated at all. Like this situation was nusicense, a fluke in the system. He took off his hat, rubbing his forehead.

“Georgie wasn’t there when we left,” Beverly speaks up, her voice cutting through the blabbering of her friends, “Last we saw him, he went to go play outside in the rain.”

“Where?”

The kids fell silent, none of them knowing the answer to the important question being asked. It ate at them as a loud sigh left the adult. 

“Great well, thanks for letting me interview them Don, make sure they get to class-”

“Wait! We could help you look-” Beverly was cut off by a sharp look coming from the senior officer. 

“No, after school, you go straight home.  _ All of you. _ ”

The sheriff looks at each boy individually, making sure all of them see his stern glare. 

“That means no biking around, no investigating, nonsense. This isn’t some episode of scooby doo-”

“ _ Scooby doo? _ ” Richie’s nose scrunched up. 

“You know, the gang with the dog?” Ben provided. 

“I know what the hell Scooby Doo is dumb-!”

“HEY!” The words cut through the conversation, turning all eyes and ears on the man in charge. “Do I make myself clear?” When he didn’t get a response he asked again, firmer. 

The kids looked at eachother, exchanging worried glances. However they were shaken by his rough tone, which is why they all nodded.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


A plate with a well-made juicy hamburger and fries slid over the table into the hands of a quiet boy sitting across. 

Now alone, the two sat in silence. Now wearing some old merchandise, it covered his whole chest and torso reaching to his knees. The boy’s finger snatch up the burger before sinking his teeth into the juicy red meat on a bun. He starts to devour it, ignoring the man across from him.

“Your parents forget to feed yah?” 

No response.

“That why you run away?”

Still nothing.

“They...hurt you?”

Again nothing.

“And... you went to the hospital, that it? But you got scared, ran off, found your way here?”

The boy’s head snapped up.  _ Has he hit close to the mark?  _ Benny wonders. It seems like she is finally going to speak, but then she returns to eating her burger. With no other choice, Benny yanked away the plate of food.

The kid looked up confused, hungry for more. He stared at the food longingly. 

“I'll give it back, you can have as much as you like, maybe even some ice cream; but first, you gotta answer a few 'a my questions. We got a deal?”

When he got no response, he took it as a cue to move forward. 

“We'll start easy. My name's Benny. Benny Hammond.” 

Benny too his hand, shaking it to recreate a handshake. However the boy didn’t seem to receive the gesture, just looking confused and confounded.

“Nice to meet ya. _ And you are...? _ ”

Again silence filled the room. Benny sighed, starting to withdraw from the failed handshake. That’s when some catches his eye. What looked like a tattoo on his lower left wrist with the number Eleven in black ink.  _ What kind of kid has a tattoo? _

“Eleven?”

The boy yanked his arm away.

“What’s that mean?”

“Well I’ll be damned, he speaks!” A moment passes. “No? No what?” 

When the boy didn’t speak right away, he shrugs and grabs the plate to pretend to walk away. The cause as reaction, make the kid jump up and say, “Eleven…”

Benny tried to hide his interior smirk as he turned back around.

“Eleven. Yeah. What does it mean?” 

The boy pointed to himself, “Eleven.”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


_ “Hello Social Services. How may we help you?” _

_ “... All I know is, poor thing's scared to death... confused…” _

_ “I think he's been abused or kidnapped or somethin'.” _

_ “It's 4819 Randolph Lane. Randolph, right.” _

Eleven was finishing off the last of his food, finally feeling full after the long trip. He notices, though soft, a high pitched noise. He looked up at the old rusty metal oscillating fan. As it turned, it squeaked. It was annoying. It is incessant. Eleven narrows his eyes and suddenly the blades stop. Like it somehow froze. He looks away without any amazement. Instead, he was content now. 

No more stupid annoying fan.

He continues eating his fries.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Bill was sat for dinner. His father chewed on his food silently. Meanwhile his mother hardly acknowledged her husband's meal. Instead she stared blankly at the chair across the table. It was Georgie’s chair. 

Bill clutched his fork, glaring at the mashed potatoes and meatloaf. 

“We should b-be ou-out there ri-right now.” His father looked up at him, his face exhausted. “We sh-sh-should be hel-helping look for hi-him.” His mother look simply destroyed. 

“We’ve been over this. The chief-”

“I don’t ca-care about the ch-chief! He doesn't care a-about Ge-Georgie!”

“Bill!” His father slammed his hands on the table causing Bill to loose the words in his throat. He stared at his angry father’s hunched body. His mother on the other hand, simply stood up. WIthout a word she walked away leaving her plate of food untouched. 

His father tried to call out to her but she didn’t respond. 

“This is the end of discussion. You crossed a line young man. Go to you room!” 

Bill lowered his gaze onto his food, finding a strange burning sensation in his eye grow stronger. He stood up, leaving his own plate equally untouched, and stormed off. He ran up the stairs and into his room and shut the door. Once close, his back fell onto the wooden door as he slid down until he was sitting on the cold wooden floor. 

“ _ I’m sorry Georgie… _ ”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Ice cream tasted amazing.

Eleven dug into his chocolate pint sized ice cream while he sat on the counter. His legs swayed back and forth showing just how small he was. This feeling felt strange to Eleven. It was like he was like an actual child. The creamy delight made him feel like everything he wasn’t supposed to be. 

Meanwhile next to him, Benny was finishing up the last of the night dishes. Eleven glanced at him, tugging the corners of his mouth up. The expression felt weird on his face. Benny smiled back as he knocked the faucet off.

“Hey. A smile looks good on you.” 

Eleven looked confused. 

“A smile,” Benny showed her an example of his own toothy grin.

Eleven smiles back, copying his expression. It lasted for a few seconds before the sound of knocking caused it to disappear off his face. 

“Just ...stay put. Whoever it is, I’ll turn them away, _ a’ight _ ?”

Eleven watches the man carefully while shoving another spoonful into his mouth. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Benny lumbers to the front door, swinging it open, where to his surprise is a friendly smiling woman waited. 

“You must be Mr. Hammond.” It wasn’t a question, she stated it like it was fact.

“Afraid so. Also ‘fraid we’ve closed shop. Why don’t you come back tomorrow--”

Benny tries to shut the door but a hand caught the door. The woman smiles again, this time less pleasant. 

“Connie Fraziner.  _ Social Services _ .”

Benny stopped, exhaling, as he opened the door once again. Embarrassed at the whole encounter, he shook her hand. 

“ _ Social Services _ . Apologies.” Her grip was firm, almost like she was showing off her strength. “Didn’t think you were gonna make it here so quick. That’s a hell of a drive.” It was almost impressive at their sheer determination to help a kid in need. To go out of their way and come here through awful traffic.

“Not too bad at this time of night.”

Benny nods, lowering his voice for this next part. “Listen. I still haven't told him about you. I didn't want him runnin' off again. He's a tad skittish...” Connie shrugged it off, shoving another smile out. 

“Most children I work with usually are.” She quickly changed the subject. “So, where is he?”

“In the back,” Benny gestured to the kitchen, “C’mon I’ll introduce ya.” Benny turned around leading the woman to the kitchen where Eleven ate peacefully. “Apologies  _ again _ for trying to turn you away. It's funny, your voice, it sounded different on the phone --”

“Mister Hammond?” Connie cut through.

“Yeah--?” Benny spun around right as Connie, the so called social worker raised a gun straight at the business owner and shoots him. There’s no sound except Benny’s body hitting the cold grown. 

Eleven, who witnessed the whole thing, dropped the frozen treat like a raccoon caught stealing and jumped off the counter. He blew past the double doors and headed towards the back.

Agent’s stormed into the kitchen, followed by Doctor Kaspbrak.

Eleven sprints for the back screen door. But she crashes to a halt as suddenly as agents crash through the back door. It left him an antelope to the lions. The agent’s raised their electrical shock sticks in the air, making sure the boy saw them and knew that he lost.

* * *

Loud noises echo from the back. Screaming.  _ Chaos _ . 

Doctor Kaspbrak and the agents exchange glances. Together they pushed passed the double doors and straight to where their men was. When they get there, only then did they see the agents lying in a pool of their own blood with their bones twisted in all sorts of directions. Ignoring the sight, Kaspbrak exploded out the back. Searching the dark world outside, desperate, only to find nothing to see. The only visible thing was the darkness around.   
  


Eleven is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeee forgot to post this earlier.


	3. Where’d you go Georgie?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beverly decides to help in the search for the missing kid and find something bigger than that.

Beverly sat on her bed, staring out her window, wondering about her friend. She couldn’t imagine what Bill was feeling. With Georgie gone...gosh she couldn’t bare to think of the pain. She wanted to be there for him.

The sound of footprints echoed through the hallway by her door. She’d recognize those heavy footsteps anywhere. How could she forget? They taunt her all day making it nearly impossible. 

The footsteps stopped in front of her door. It lingered, not making a noise. 

Beverly inhale sharply, trying her best to not make a noise. 

Then the steps trailed away towards the bathroom. She exhaled, feeling her body tremble. She clutched onto her upper arm. She stood from her bed, grabbing her backpack as she made a choice. She’d rather be with Bill than spend her night scared.

Beverly waited till she heard the door to the bathroom shut before she creaked open the door. She checked the coast before warily walking out. She walked out, closing the door as gently as she could to avoid making any noise. She prayed her father wouldn’t hear or check on her tonight as she tiptoes down the hall into the living room. She unlocked the door before undoing the other locks.    
  


The toilet flushed. She could hear it. Any second her father would be out. She cursed the amount of locks knowing the purpose they served was to make sure she wouldn’t try to sneak out. 

The bathroom door swung open, Beverly’s father topples out. He takes a deep breath of the air, his eyes trailing across the room. He walked through the hall, picking up the pace as he went down the hall. His footsteps carried throughout the house growing louder and louder until they stopped in the living room. He looked around the room, searching for something that wasn’t there. After a second of looking and finding nothing out of the ordinary, he sat down on his chair and adjust his attention to the screen in front of him. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Beverly stopped by Ben’s house first, launching a rock at his window. She kept throwing until she saw a familiar figure at the window.

“ _ Beverly? _ ” Ben yawned.

“Come on, Bill needs us.” 

One by one, she biked around waking up her friends to join her. She pedaled to the last house, that being Richie’s, who lived in one of the nice neighborhoods, and tossed a rock up there. When they got no response, she tossed another.

“What is taking him so long?” Mike wondered, rubbing his own tired eyes. 

“Maybe he’s a really deep sleeper?” Ben said, shrugging. 

Beverly ignored the two boys, sending yet another rock flying. “M-Maybe we should just go without him?” Stan suggest, flinching as he watched the rock hit the window. Right as Beverly sent another rock flying, the window flew open revealing a half awake barefaced Richie.

“ _ What the-OW! _ ” The rock Bev sent flying managed to hit the unsuspecting kid right in the face, waking him up from his sleepy daze.

“SHH!” The gang said simoustanly.

“I get assaulted in my own house and I’m the one who’s being scolded!” Richie whispers, glaring at his friends.

“Just get your ass down here! We’re gonna go help Bill!” 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Once in front of Bill’s house, the crew parks their bikes in front of the lawn. The first thing they notice is the lights are on but nobody seemed to be awake. ‘ _ They must be for Georgie,’  _ Bev thought. She picked up a rock before sending a rock straight for their friends window. On impact, the sound rung causing the crew to stiffen. They hoped their friends wouldn’t notice.

The window flew open revealing a disheveled Bill.

“ _ Georgie?! _ ” 

Bill’s eyes fell onto the Loser’s below, feeling his body deflate. 

“ _ Awkward _ ,” Richie mumbled. Stan did the group a favor and elbowed their infamous trashmouth. 

“Wh-What are you guys doing he-he-here?” Bill asked, trying to mask his disappointment. However, the group seemed to see through it.

“We’re here to help you find Georgie.”

* * *

The gang pedaled through the small town, keeping their eyes open for their friend’s younger brother. 

There was silence within the group as they passed the river. Bill, who was leading the way, slowed down until he stopped completely. The others follow suit. 

“Why are we stopping?” Mike asked.

The gang followed the teen’s gaze. There was caution tape wrapped around a sewer gutter. It hit the kids just like that. This wasn’t some movie or game. All of this was real. Georgie wasn’t off waiting at the hands of some villain. He could be hurt somewhere, like really hurt. 

Heavy rain shattered the silence, cutting through their tension with a knife. They look up to see lightning flashing the sky, illuminating the dark gloomy storm clouds above.

“Do you guys feel that?”

Ben held out his palm to watch the rain droplets hit his palm. It was raining and they were outside without any protection.

“Maybe we should go back?” Stan looked antsy to leave. He hated breaking the rules and really didn’t want to get sick in the rain. His dad would kill him.

Bill wasn’t listening though. Or if he was, he didn’t care. He unparked his bike and turned to his friends.

“No sp-splitting up or a-a-anything but if anything ha-happens, we me-meet back at the ri-river. G-Got it?”

With that, Bill bikes off leaving his crew to follow. 

The gang exchanged glances, clearly hesitating to continue until Beverly spoke up, “We should hurry before we lose him.” She bikes off and the others follow.

“Aw shit. First I get assaulted by a rock and now I’ve gotta bike through this crappy weather? Your mom won’t be too happy about this Stan, I left her all alone in my bed!”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The river looked so eerie at night. 

The forest rustled through the storm, the wind carrying the Loser’s scream and drowning it out. The crew was soaked as they tried to walk through the terrible weather with only a few flashlights and soaked clothing. Their bikes were parked at the entrance path to the river and sewer system. It was the only place they hadn’t checked.

“ _ Georgie! Georgie! _ ” Bill called out. 

“Hey Georgie, I’ve got a pretty wicked girl at home!” It was Beverly’s turn to elbow their outspoken friend. “Beep fucking beep, Richie.”

Bill didn’t seem to care about Richie’s horrible jokes. All he could focus on was his brother. Was he out there in the rain calling him? Could he be near? Were they close? He marched on, leading the gang further away from their bikes and into the dark riverbank. 

“Guys I really think we should turn around--”

“Seriously, Stan, if you want to be a baby, just go home already!” Richie told him, showing no empathy whatsoever. He was freezing his ass out here too and didn’t want to listen to his friends constant whining. The two just don’t go together well.

“I-I’m just being realistic here, Richie! W-What if Georgie went missing because, you know, he ran into someone bad? And now we're going to the place where he may have been taken too! Does that seem smart to you?!”

“Shut up!” Mike suddenly snapped. 

Everyone looked at their friend, surprised at his sudden change of attitude. However when they looked at him they realize he wasn’t mad or annoyed. He was listening for something. 

Everyone listens. There’s rattling coming from what sounded like all around. The trees swayed and bushes rustled. 

Mike slowly swings his flashlight around the dark woods. 

_ Tree. _

_ Bush. _

_ Tree, tree. _

_ Bush tree. _

_ Tree Bush.  _

The group began to huddle closer as something darts behind them. Mike tried to see what but the desperate cries from the gang made it hard as his hands began to shake.

“What the hell was that?!”

“What is it Mike?!”

“I don’t know!”

Bill’s eyes widen as he joined the group, whirling around his light until it landed on something. Or someone.   
  


_ “Gu-Guys?” _

The crew spun around, their eyes widening at the sight. A kid, their age, stood in the rain. His eyes were wild like some sort of animal and short sloppy hair, like it hadn’t been done in a while. He wears a shirt with a faded logo. Richie stares at the other kid and he looks straight back.

Their gaze holds.

Another boom of lighting echoed through the sky. Drowning out everything below.

  
  
  



	4. The Weirdo on Maple Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Losers try to talk to the kid in the woods.

_ “Is th-there a n-n-number we can c-call for your pa-pa-parents?” _

There is a beat of silence.

The gang sat around, staring at the soaked stranger. Beverly paced in the background, staring at her feet as she walked in circles clearly on edge about the situation. Meanwhile Stan, Mike, and Richie stared at the stranger in bewilderment. 

“Where’s your hair?” Stan questioned.

“Do you have cancer?” Richie blurts out. 

“Did you runaway?” Beverly asked, trying to ignore her other friends. 

“Is that blood?” Stan squeaked as he pointed the obvious red stains. As he began to panic, Bill cut through their little yelling fest. 

“St-stop it! You’re fr-freaking him out!”    
  


The mysterious boy sat on an old couch, looking up at the crew with wide blow eyes. He looked frightened by the barrage of questions. 

“Well he’s freaking us out!” Stan exclaimed. 

“I bet he’s deaf!” Richie clapped his hands loudly in the face of the kid. It caused him to jump. He was most definitely not deaf. “Welp I stand corrected.”

Bill sighed, wishing everyone would just stop for a second. 

“Enough. He’s probably scared and cold,” Beverly cut in, ending the conversation that was unfolding. “Now Bill, do you got any clean clothes?” 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


When Bill came sneaking down the stairs with a fresh pair of clothes the gang stood up. Beverly took the warm clothes and taking them to their new unexpected guest. “Here...this will probably be much more comfortable than that.” 

  
  


The kid hesitated before suddenly reaching for the end of his shirt and pulling it upward towards his head.

“NO, NO NO!” Everyone cried, stopping the kid from doing something they didn’t want to see.

“Holy shit!” Richie, the sly fucker, was laughing. Like straight up laughing. “You should’ve seen your guy’s face!” Stan rolls his eyes, his cheeks flushed red. Meanwhile Mike looks away, muttering something about Rich being a jerk. Ben didn’t know what to do and just stood like a statue. Bill stuttered, unsure of what he could say.

Beverly on the other hand moved him to the closet. He gave her a confused look, like he didn’t understand what he did wrong. She gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Here. Privacy. Got it? No more flashing people...” 

Beverly moved to close the door, hoping the kid understood what she was saying but before she could fully close it a hand slammed onto the door, stopping her. It caught the attention of Richie and Bill who turned around to see what was going on.

Eyes wide with fear looked into Beverly’s sympathetic ones pleadingly. 

“You don’t want it closed?” 

He shook his head, hesitating to let go of the door. 

“Um ...how about we keep the door open...,” Beverly left the door open about three inches give or take. “ _ Like this? _ ” 

“Yes…” 

Richie seemed surprised that the strange kid could speak yet also intrigued. He wasn’t sure why this kid seemed to be calling his attention. Maybe it was the weirdness surrounding him. Whatever it was, it captivated his attention. The kid let go of the door. Beverly walked away to let the kid change. 

“This is crazy! First we sneak out even after the sheriff told us not to! Then we find some stranger in the woods! Then after that we bring him-”

“Dude.  _ Chill _ ,” Richie told Stan. 

“At least he can talk!” Ben tried to look at the positives of this situation. However there was hardly any to look at and his friends didn’t seem to be having it.

“A baby can say more words than he did,” Mike pointed out. “There’s something seriously wrong with him.” 

Richie seemed distracted by the closet door, ignoring the conversation with his fellow peers. He was intrigued by the stranger and their odd behavior and mannerisms. For once, he couldn’t find anything to say.

“For all we know, he’s probably insane! Like Micheal Myers insane!” 

Stan gasped at the idea. Like he just thought of it, and it gave him another reason to panic. He felt his palms sweat as he rocked himself, trying to calm down. 

“Alright stop it! You’re freaking Stan out!” 

“Sorry Stan,” Mike apologised. However the loser was far from done. He turned to Bill and said, “We should tell you mom.” 

“I second that!” Stan raised his hand.

“N-No wa-way!” Bill shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was be an even bigger nuisance to his parents again. Plus if his father found out about him going out to look for Georgie behind his back, he’d kill him! 

“No. If his mom finds out we snuck out, she’d tell the rest of your parents.”

“Then our house becomes prison,” Stan finished with a worried look. He cursed under his breath as he saw nothing but a deep hold of trouble waiting for him. There was no way out of this endless trouble. 

“Maybe he can stay down here for tonight and tomorrow you just have him sneak out and ring your doorbell! Then you mom can help him!” Ben suggested. The idea was good and actually brought silence among the group. For once they all stood at peace with the decision. 

“Then to-to-tomorrow we fi-find Georgie!”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


They made a tent out blankets. 

Inside held the stranger, wearing Bill’s old pj’s. 

  
  
  
  


Beverly groaned while Stan just rolled his eyes as they start to leave. “You think he really he’s really psycho?” Ben asked as he followed the rest of the gang up. Mike looked at him and said, “Wouldn’t want him in my house…” 

Everyone had seemed to go, leaving only Richie and Bill. 

“I-I’m go-gonna get more blankets.” Bill left, leaving the crackhead and quiet one alone for a moment. Once he was gone, Richie looked at the makeshift tent and scrunch his nose. It was as ugly as Bower’s stupid face. That’s when he noticed the stranger staring at him with almost some sort curious stare. It was unnerving. 

“H-Hey...um we never asked but, um, what’s your name psycho?” Richie asked. Classic him. Always having to make things weird. 

The kid didn’t even look at him. Instead he looked straight down. Richie followed his gaze onto his bare arms where he noticed the number  _ ‘011’ _ tattooed on the kid’s arm. He perked up, saying, “No way! Is that real?” 

Richie tried to get a better look by moving his arm but it only caused the kid to pull back like he was just burned by a flame on his hand. 

Right, boundaries. Good one Rich. 

“What does it mean? Eleven?” Richie asked, trying to calm his excitement. He forced himself to sit still and try his best not to scare the stranger.

The kid simply pointed at himself. Like he was suppose to understand.

Richie eventually put two and two together and looked like he didn’t believe a word he was saying. He raised a brow, giving him his best  _ ‘bullshit’ _ expression. “Your name is Eleven?” Richie’s face scrunched up at the strange name. He snorted when the kid nodded. “Let me guess, your brother’s twelve?”

_ ‘Eleven’ _ was baffled by Richie, not bothering to hide it. 

“Wow. Tough crowd.” 

Eleven didn’t react, going back to fixing the strewed blankets. Almost as if he hated the way they were so close to the floor.  _ Just a weirdo doing weird things. So what _ ?  _ I shouldn’t care.  _ Richie thought.

“Alright! Nice talk! Night, psycho!” Richie stood up from his seat and started to make his way to the stairs where Bill was coming back from holding more blankets.  _ Jeez, how many blankets did this kid have _ ? 

“Night, Richie.”

Bill gaped, like he just walked in at some life changing moment. He stared at Richie whose face flushed before running up the stairs passed his fellow loser. He didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Bill or respond to the kid.

The door closes and just like that, Richie is gone.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Bill woke up extra early, setting his alarm thirty minutes before his father’s in case he chose today to start going back to work. He raced down the stairs, though carefully as to not stir his parents, and went into the kitchen. He pulled out the quickest thing he could find. That being four chocolate bars hidden in a drawer. 

He made sure the coast was clear before walking into the attic where, to his surprise, his guest sat already up holding an old dingy radio that he used to use to play with when he was younger. 

“Go-Got you bre-breakfast!” Bill handed the boy the four bars, giving him a small smile. 

The kid took the bars with fascination. Like they were some sort of magic space food. It was strange. He unwrapped one of the bars, taking a bite. His face lit up, the food practically melting in his mouth. He could tell he liked it when he began to scarf the bar down like it was cocaine. 

Time to put his plan in action.

“So listen, this is gonna so-so-sound a little weird, but I-I-I just ne-nee-need you to go out there. Th-Then go to the fr-fro-front d-door and ring the do-do-doorbell. My mom will answer and yo-you-you'll tell her that you're lo-lo-lost and that you need help. B-But whatever you do, you can't tell her about last ni-nig-night or that you know me. Un-Un-Understand? Really, it's no big deal. We wi-will j-jus-just pretend-” 

“No.” His tone was firm. Like he couldn’t get around firm. He’s only heard that tone with his mom whenever he gets punished for doing something wrong. 

“N-No?”

“No.” He repeated for clarification. 

“Bu-But my mom will he-he-help you!”

“No.” 

“You don't want my mom to get help?” Pause. “You're in trouble, aren't you? Wh-Wh-Who are y-you in trouble with?”

“Bad.” 

“Bad?” Bills face twisted into confusion as he tried to make sense of the conversation they were having. “Bad pe-people? Like they wa-want to hurt you bad?” 

Suddenly, Eleven lifted his hand, forming a gun shaped gesture. He pointed the gun at his head.  _ Kill me _ . Then he turned the gun on Bill.  _ Kill you _ . The chillish scene made the kid freeze, forgetting about the plan completely. 

Without any warning, footsteps echoed from about telling him his dad was up. He was going to ignore it when he heard his mother’s voice cut through, “ _ where’s Bill?! I-I can’t find him!” _

Bill cursed under his breath. 

“Wa-Wai-Wait! Wait here!” 

Without a second to waste he rushed up the stairs. He squeezed out through the door as quiet as possible trying to make sure his parents didn’t hear.

“What do you mean you can’t find him?!”

“He’s not in his room! I checked! Oh god-“ 

Bill walked calmly as possible from the living room door the the kitchen. He stood in one the entryway and said in a loud but nervous voice, “I-I’m ri-rig-right here.” 

Both parents turned to look at Bill, his mother’s eyes filling with relief at the sight of her eldest son. 

“Where were you?! I couldn’t find you! I thought-“ 

“I was in th-the bathroom, mom…” A heavy silence filled the room. His father sighed, looking down at the counter as his mother told him, laying a motherly hand on her son’s cheek, “you can’t disappear like that! Not after…” 

She fiddled with his hair obsessively, trying to fix the stray hairs but no matter how hard she tried, it never was what she wanted to be. 

“He’s fine, Sharon. You don’t have to baby him!” 

His mother pulled away like she smacked across the face. Her soft loving (yet trembling) hand left Bill’s warm skin leaving him cold.

“I-I’m sorry mom. I won’t scare you again..I  _ pr-promise _ .”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Beverly stared at the empty seat beside her. She knew what this meant, or at least she thought. She could hear Stan’s fidgeting behind her, obviously thinking the exact same thing. She exhaled, fiddling with her bracelets. 

“Where the fuck is he?” Richie’s voice cut through.

“Maybe his parents caught him and now he’s in trouble and his parents are probably calling our parents-” 

“You don’t know that. He might just be running late…”

Even Beverly didn’t believe her own words. However she couldn’t have the group breaking down while she didn’t have anyone to help take control. So she pushed down her own fright into a dark box in the back of her head and shut it away. 

“He probably got caught up blowing your dad.” 

“I hate you,” Stan mumbled. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“Wa-Want a-an-any thing t-t-to dr- drink?” 

  
  


Bill stood in the doorway, rubbing his two hands together awkwardly. Lucky for him, his mother and father left meaning he got some time to talk. However the kid didn’t seem that interested in his sell. He walked off, his eyes traveling across the room.

Eleven looked at the tv, laying his hands on the gigantic box. 

“U-Uh this is m-my living ro-room...we ju-just watch t-tv.”

Eleven walked away, his attention snatched away by the collection of photos on the banister. He stared at the snapshots, the moment’s frozen in time, and stared. They were of people, including Bill. They looked happy, smiling widely. His eyes traveled to a photo of a child. Big round eyes, brown fluffy hair, yellow raincoat, sitting beside a younger Bill while eating ice cream. 

“T-That’s my li-little brother Ge-Geo-Georgie.”

Something lit up in the kids eyes, recognition almost. Bill wasn’t quite sure. How would this stranger know about...unless he knew something about. He wanted to ask but the sound of a car pulling up caught his attention. 

“ _ Come on Sharon! You can’t keep avoiding this! _ ”

“ _ My son is gone Zack! I can do whatever the hell I want! _ ”

  
  


Bill didn’t waste any more time. He grabbed Eleven by the arm, freaking him out, and dragged him up the stairs. He could feel the struggle in the kids hand, clearly not liking the way he was being dragged away. In Fact he didn’t seemed pleased with the whole situation. However, by the time he reached upstairs, the front door swung open. He could hear his mother’s loud angry footsteps followed by his father's heavy ones. 

Bill ran into his room, leading the kid into the closet. He could hear his mother approaching upstairs which meant he didn't have long.

“In here! I promise I-I won’t te-tell my m-o-m-mom about you but I ne-ne-need you to hi-hide. It wi-will only be se-second! I promise!” 

“Promise?”

“It means something you can’t break.” Eleven gave a doe-eyed stare. He was clearly still processing it all. Bill decided he couldn’t wait any longer and shut the door, filling the room with an empty darkness.

It was all too familiar.

Eleven stared at the door. The walls around him was stationary, yet they felt as if they were closing in on him. With each tense breath, the door felt like it was getting farther away. He wanted to open it, to let the light in, but Bill told him to wait. He had no choice but to do as he said. He promised. Promises aren’t something you can break he said.

Eleven looked around at the hanging clothes and shoes. He felt his skin crawl. It was dirty. Just like the bad place. It was all around him. He backed up, his back hitting the wall. His legs were jelly.

Breath in.

Out.

In.

Out-

_ “MAMA!” _

Eleven was screaming as two burly men dragged him away. He struggled against their deathly strong grip. He screamed, looking back at Mama. She stood at the end of the long tiled corridor, her face was almost empty. 

“Mama!” Eleven cried. He wanted them to stop hurting him. He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to go to the dark room. “ _ Mama! Noo! _ ” He pulled against the forces pulling him forward. Why won’t his Mama help him? He’ll do better next time. He screams louder. 

“ _ NO _ !” The guards turned the corner and his screams grew desperate as they lead him to the bad room. The door flew open revealing a little room, it’s floor smeared with dirt and walls covered in mold and junk. It was  _ filthy _ . Not only that, it was dark.

  
“ _ No! Stop it! _ ”

The guards threw him, his body hitting onto the ground with a thud. It echoed through the room and the guards turned around.    
  


“MAMA!” Eleven jumped up, jumping at the door right at it closed. He banged on the metal door, screaming. His heart pounding and throat hurt.  _ “MAMA!” _ His small fist banged harder.

** _BANG!_ **

** _BANG!_ **

** _BANG!_ **

“Mama... _ no _ ... _ Mama... _ ” Eleven curled in the corner of the room, keeping all his limbs as close as physically possible. He was sobbing.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


“ _ Georgie is gone! That’s finale! Don’t make this any harder! _ ” Bill jumped into bed, getting under the covers. His mom pushed open his door, peeking inside. 

“Hi mo-mom,” Bill greeted. 

“Hey Bill, glad to see your up...are you hungry? I-I can make breakfast-”

“It’s okay mom,” Bill cut his mother off, glancing quickly at the closet, before back at his mothers face.

“Are you sure-”

“I’m su-sure…” Bill tried to be as polite as possible. He knew his mother was fragile and was doting on him because of Georgie. She didn’t want to lose him too. It was strange to have so much attention drawn in on him but he knew that soon it would be over. Cause soon, Georgie would come home and things will go back to normal. 

“Okay hun….I’ll be downstairs if you need me…” He knew it was a lie. She’d be in her bedroom, facing the wall with that deathly blank stare. Not even flinching when he called her name. Just laying, wishing to forget. He watched her go, watching her hesitate at his door frame, and leave.

  
  


Bill waited until he was sure his mom wasn’t near before jumping out of bed. He raced over to his closet throwing the door open. Inside he saw Eleven curled up in the corner sobbing quietly. Guilt hit him like a bolting train.

“I’m so sor-sor-sorry. Are you o-okay?”

Eleven nodded.

“Are y-you su-sure?”

“ _ Promise _ ...”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Bill’s dad is a douche. Ik.
> 
> -I promise more Eddie later.
> 
> -Also Pennywise too. 
> 
> That’s about it. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!


	5. Coke is it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew have a plan & Eddie has flashbacks.

Betty had cut class early that day. 

She had enough of Mister Torchwood’s hippie hair and weed stench. She decided to walk home early instead. As she trailed through the mellow town of Darry she decided to head to the trail’s to try jogging. She was part of the school’s track team but was easily the slowest. She wasn’t as good as the others and her coach doesn’t forget it. She past dozens of house and bulletin boards. All of them littered with missing person’s posters. However she didn’t mind them. Most of them were runaways, or at least that’s what people say. She wasn’t like them. She never would be so selfish. 

Betty stopped by a familiar trail. She settled by a bench, scouring her backpack for her running shoes. 

“Where are my shoes?” She asks herself. She pulled out her binder, books, and make-up to see her shoes weren’t in her bag. “God I must’ve left them in my locker...”

“Looking for theses?”

Betty noticed her running shoes in a stranger's hand. She looked surprised as she said, “My running shoes...how did you get them-” She spun around to find nobody standing there. She blinks. She was pretty sure she heard someone before. Her gaze fell onto the dirt below to find her shoes just laying there. Her gut began to twist as she bent down to pick up her track shoes. She examined the flats, coming to the conclusion that these were in fact her shoes. She recognized the dirt stains and old treds. However with nobody around and her shoes just laying here without her taking them out left a bad taste in her mouth. 

“_ Silly little old Betty, always forgetting her shoes. _” 

Betty froze, feeling her heart drop. Slowly but surely she turned her head.

“Coach?”

Then there was screaming.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Richie pulled up to Bill’s house, his breaks coming to a screeching halt. He noticed the others bikes parked in the garage. Nobody had bothered to wait for his arrival and truthfully he couldn’t blame him. So he parked his bike next to Mike’s and Ben. He trudded over to the unlocked door, swinging it open. Right as he walked in, he could hear his friends above. Though muffled, he could hear Stan's voice frantic voice. 

_ “Are you out of your mind?!” _

So he trudded up the stairs, swinging his backpack on his shoulder. When he reached the door and opened it. He was greeted with the gangs back turned towards him. From what he could see, Bill stood across from them with Eleven sitting on his bed watching the group argument. 

“Ju-Just li-lis-listen!” 

“He’s out of your mind,” Mike muttered, shaking his head. 

“He kn-kn-knows about Georgie!” The room fell silent except for Richie’s footsteps who looked around the room confused. Of course he had to walk in the most pivotal part of the conversation. However, it didn’t take long for him to put two and two together.

“What do you mean he knows about Georgie?” Bev asked, finally speaking up.

“He po-po-pointed at him! At his pi-pic-picture on the b-b-banister! I c-c-could tell!” Richie glanced at Eleven whose gaze kept switching from loser to loser. He seemed to understand the conversation but didn’t seem to know what to say.

“Pl-Plus he said ba-bad people were a-a-after him!” Bill tried to explain. “Maybe th-those bad people ha-have Ge-Georgie! I think h-h-he knows what happened to hi-him!”

“Then why won't he tell us?” Mike asked. There was a heavy silence. One that nobody wanted to break. “Do you know where he is?” Mike asked, shattering the silence. 

Eleven just sat there, looking up at Mike with a frightened expression at the change of tone. He didn’t speak or even move. He just sat there wide eye. 

“Do you know where Georgie is?!”

“Stop it! You’re scaring him!” Richie suddenly exclaimed. “You’re not gonna get anything by shaking him like that!” 

“This is nuts, I agree with Mike...we have to tell you mom,” Ben said, shaking his head. Beverly shook her head, looking towards Bill.

“No! He sa-said t-telling a-any adult would pu-put us in danger!” 

  


“I’m sorry, _ danger? _ What kind of danger?” Richie asked, feeling himself grow uncomfortable in the space he was in. He may be a douchebag but he wasn’t careless. Danger meant probable death and quite frankly, Richie would like to avoid that for as long as possible, thank you very much.

Bill copied the exact same gesture, showing the gang exactly what Eleven showed him. The room fell silent once again as their leader pointed his finger gun straight at each of their heads until suddenly Mike smacked it away, touching a raw nerve. 

“That’s it, I’m telling your mom!” Mike stormed off, yanking the door open. However, to everyone's surprise, the door flew shut keeping the kids in. He blinked before trying it again, this time less aggressive. However this time it shut with such force, the room shook knocking Bill’s stuff on the ground. The lock on the door turned, leaving all of them trapped inside. 

Together the gang turned, eyes wide. 

Behind them stood a very serious Eleven glaring at them with an almost crazed look with blood was dripping down his nostrils. He looked like an animal who was showing its fangs. 

_ “No.” _

  
  


* * *

  
  


Eleven sat still in the bathroom, on the toilet seat, as Beverly cleaned up his bloody nose. 

Behind her stood Bill who watched intently while Ben, Mike, and Stan stood by the doorway. However Bev didn’t seem to mind. She seemed to be concentrated on the task on hand instead. 

Suddenly Richie comes into the room, holding a whole carton of ice cream he stole from the Denbrough’s fridge. He stuffed a spoonful in his mouth, and settled around with the others. He was about to demolish the frozen treat when he noticed a pair of puppy dog eyes staring at him. 

“Quit moving,” Beverly reprimanded.

Richie realized it wasn’t him who was catching the other kid’s attention. He followed the kid’s gaze down to the pint of ice cream. 

“Want some?” 

Stan looked gobsmacked. Like he just witnessed some sort of scare phenomenon. Bill just raised his brows in a source of amazement. Richie sharing was like pigs flying. It never happened. At least, until now..

Eleven looks sad for a moment, a mournful look in his eyes.

Richie didn’t like how it looked.

“This is chocolate ice cream.” Richie explains, holding out a spoonful towards the boy. “It’s amazing! Way better than tickling your pickle!”

“Pickle?” Eleven asks, staring. 

Richie shoved the spoon full of ice cream into his mouth. 

“You know, like-“ He made a strange gesture where he shook his fist up and down to explain. Some melted ice cream dribbles out his mouth as he did it. 

Eleven tilted his head, confused. 

“Stop corrupting the boy, will you?” Beverly scolds.

“What? Gotta learn sometime!” 

“You’re disgusting Tozier…”

Richie shared the ice cream, washing the spoon after Eleven refuses to use the same one as him. Beverly finished up, smiling at the scene. It was truly heartwarming to see their trashmouth actually being nice to an outsider.

“D-Don’t sp-poil his dinner,” Bill mumbles.

Richie tries to back away when suddenly Eleven snatches his arm, using his spoon to reach out and grab more.

“Sorry Bill. Looks like we got an addict on our hands. Who am I to deprive him?” 

Richie looks up at Bill smiling.

His smile melted when he saw Bill get distracted, the smile in his eyes darkening, his gaze preoccupied with a rubber duck sitting in the bathtub, discarded and alone. Georgie. He was thinking of Georgie. He missed him.

“Do you know where our friend’s brother, Georgie, is?” Richie asked, ruining the moment.

Beverly shot a glare at the trashmouth. 

“I don’t think this is the time Rich-”

“_ Friend? _” It wasn’t mean or teasing the way Eleven said it. It was just full of curiosity and confusion, as if the word friend wasn’t in his vocabulary. Then again, vocabulary didn’t seem to be in this kid’s vocab. “I-It’s so-someone th-that you’d d-d-do anything for,” Bill explained. 

“Yeah and you make their life a living hell.” Beverly glared at Richie, before she added, “What he means is friends are people you have fun with, tease sometimes for fun.”

“They also don’t break a promise,” Ben adds. 

“They also don’t lie to you,” Beverly tells him in a quiet voice that only Eleven could hear.

Eleven seemed to process this, repeating the word under his breath. He then looked up at the group, nodding to show he understood. Suddenly the kid stands up, leaving Bev to call out to him, “wait! I wasn’t finished!” 

  
“What’s the psycho doing now?” Richie questioned. 

None of the other boys stopped him as he walked past them. Instead they watched as their newfound _ ‘friend’ _walked out the door and towards a familiar door down the hall. They all looked at Bill who looked like he just had some sort of moment where he suddenly realizes how short life was or something.

“Th-That’s Ge-Georgies…” His voice trailed off as Eleven opened the door and just walking straight inside. The crew was glancing at each other, wondering if they should follow. However they got their answer when the boy came walking back. Only this time, in his hand was Georgie’s turtle. 

“Uh…?” 

“Eleven?” 

“_ Georgie _,” Eleven states, holding the turtle tightly in his small hands. Bill sat forward, his eyes filling with hope. “D-Did you se-see h-h-him playing? Do y-y-ou know wh-where he is?” 

The boy moved back into the bathroom. Everyone backed off, not trying to stop him. They watched him moved to the bathtub. He stopped right at the rim before bending down. Carefully and meticulous planted the toy right on top of the drain pipe in the bathtub. 

“Hiding.”

“Hiding?” Mike questioned. 

“He’s hiding?” Bill’s voice cracked as he felt a familiar sting in his eyes. “Is he h-hurt?” Beverly placed a hand on her friends should, giving him a pitiful look. However all that got her was shrug that pulled away. She was about to tell him that maybe they should stop. Though by the look on Bill’s face, he wasn’t about to stop till he got an answer.

Eleven doesn’t answer.

“Who h-hurt him? D-Do you kn-n-know?” Bill asked. “Is it th-the bad people? D-Do they have h-h-him? Did th-they hurt him?” 

Eleven shook his head.

“Then what the hell happened to him?” Richie asked, his gaze shifting from the turtle to the superpowered kid.

Suddenly, from what felt like nowhere, Eleven pulled out a small figurine. A clown, they realize. Then just like the turtle, the boy placed the clown right in front of the turtle. Everyone's gaze meet as a chilling silence filled the room. It was like somebody stuck an awful cord and nobody wanted to say anything. They were just paralyzed. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


“M_ eet us at the Barrens, when the big hand is on the three and the little hand is here… _”

Eleven stared at the watch, watching the seconds pass. He muttered the meet-up time under his breath one more time before looking upward. He stood up, walking around the basement, scrunching his nose at all the webs and dust. He looked up at the stairs. He heard nobody.

Eleven warily steps up, his eyes trained on the door above. He walked up until he could touch the doorknob, then twisted it. The door creaked open, letting him out from the dirty dark attic. His feet touched the cool wooden floor, making him suck in air. He hesitated to put his other foot on the cold floor. 

He walks around the empty house, staring at the photos around. He saw a few photos with the whole gang, including Richie smiling at the camera. His smile was strange. It made himself smile, though be it a small and quick one. He moves on to the big box in the center of the room. He remembered what Bill told him, they watch stuff on it.

Eleven’s hands trailed across the top of the box, landing on a strange knob. He accidently clicked it, causing the screen to burst into colors. He stared in fascination at the moving people and colors. He clicked another button causing the scene to change. 

_ Click. _

_ Click. _

_ Click- _

“_On the beach, and in the sun! The real thing is so much fun! For the times in your life when the things that you do! Coke is right and we do!_ _Coke is it!_”

** _Beep._ **

** _Beep._ **

** _Beep._ **

Eleven sat as the table, his hands laid flat with his head monitor on. On the table by him was a Coca Cola can. He looked up at Mama, who watched him from behind the glass. She handed her clipboard away and nodded towards him. She seemed completely focused on him.

Elven broke away from Mama and turned to the tin can. He focused on, feeling a sharp spike in his head. _ Pain _. It was all too familiar. He struggled to put all he’s got into the can, making small grunts and whimpers as a familiar ache returned.

** _Beep. _ **

** _Beep. Beep._ **

** _BEEP._ **

** _BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP-_ **

Under some sort of invisible force, the can was crushed. Eleven looked up at Mama, who seemed almost proud. Suddenly there something wet dripping down his nose. He looked away as hand towards it, pressing on his upper lip. When he pulled away, his finger he used was covered in red. He inhaled sharply, looking back up at Mama. 

She was smiling. 

  


_ “Coke is it! Coke is it!” _

  


Eleven opened his eyes. The screen is bright as he remembered, the colors flashing. The tv glitched and stuttered until it went black. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“_ Is that Betty Ripson mom? _” 

  


The crew were walking out of school when they saw her. Miss Ripson waiting by the school escorted by police officers looking absolutely destroyed. The group fell quiet. For the first day back, it ended on such a depressing note.

“Is she really expecting her to come out of the school?” 

“Grief makes you believe anything,” Beverly told the group unconsciously. When she realized what she said, she mumbled an apology to Bill. Stan, who was quiet, spoke up suddenly with a good question.

“You think they'll actually find her?”

“Sure,” Richie exclaimed, “in ditch! All decomposed in a ditch covered in worms and maggots smellin like your moms underwear!” Nobody laughed. 

“She’s not de-dead she’s mi-mi-missing,” Bill states. 

“Sorry Bill. She’s missing,” Richie apologizes, correcting himself. Though he hardly sounded convincing. He made a mental note not to say anything about dead missing kids around Bill anymore. He’s an asshole but not that much of an ass. Missing kid posters seemed to be a permanent resident on every pole and wall. It was becoming an increasing epidemic, Georgie being a part of it, however nobody seemed to care. Nobody spoke of it. Nobody did anything. The thought was depressing, leaving them silent. 

The crew began to walk. 

“You know the barrens aren’t that bad, who doesn't like splashing around in shitty water?” Suddenly Richie felt somebody pull on his backpack, yanking before shoving him into Stan. They both collided and fell to the ground. 

“Nice frisbee flamer!” Hocksetter tells Stan, grabbing his kippah and tossing it inside a passing school bus ignoring the smaller ones pleas to stop. That only makes the bully laugh. “Fucking losers!”

Meanwhile the others are pushed around while Beverly gets a burp next to her face. She gags at the awful breath. 

“Loser,” Bowers laughs as he purposely hits Bill’s shoulder. 

“Y-Y-You su-suck Bowers!” Bill exclaims. Stan whispers for him to shut up, knowing if they talk they’ll be hunted down like livestock. However the older teen refused to listen. He stood up. 

“You _ sa-sa-say _ sumething _ Bu-Bu-Billy _?” Bowers taunts, throwing his speech impediment right back in his face. It left his gut burning with anger that he couldn’t release. “You got a free ride because of your brother, but that ends today.”

“It’s only been a week. Show some class,” Beverly fires.

“Only if you show me a little something. Although, you’ll probably do it for free.” The boys laughed but Bower’s doesn’t. His gaze his too preoccupied with something else behind them. Whatever it was, it was enough to make the teen back down. “It’s gonna be hurt train for you and your faggot friends.” Bowers licked his hand, smacking Bill’s cheek with it before they walked away, completely undermining their attempts to advocate for themselves. 

“God why can’t he go missing?” Beverly mutters.

“Le-let’s go. We ha-ha-have to me-meet Eleven.” Bill walks away. The group watched him go for a moment before eventually following.

“Man, he really needs a better name,” Richie states as they walk towards their sitting bikes.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Eleven stood at the Barren, waiting.

He glanced at the clock, realizing it was about time. He looked around but no Richie or Bill. His eye traveled when suddenly he spots something fluffy. A cat. It was staring at him with its big round eyes. He looked back and suddenly it hissed.

** _“HISSSS!”_ **

Eleven gasped, staring at the cat who hissed and meowed. He tries to look away as it fought back. He gasps as he tried to focus on the small animal. The beeping pushing him to do it along with Mama’s glare. He kept looking at Mama and then the kitty. He whimpered as the cat screeched in pain. Tears began to form in his eyes and drip.

_ He can’t do it. _

He snached off his head moniter, looking up at Mama and shaking his head.

** _“NO! NO!”_ **

It was a familiar scene. Eleven was screaming for Mama as he was dragged away by heavy guards. The same corridor, the same tiles, the same disappointed glare, and the same dark room.

** _“MAMA!”_ **

They threw him inside.

Eleven stood up, turning around quickly. He glared at the men with this wild look. One guard went flying backwards, hitting and breaking the wall. While the other reached for a weapon to stop him, he tilted his head and so did he. He watched the men fall, unable to hear Mama’s footsteps approaching. There was only ringing. 

Blood dripped down his nose and ears, as his body weakly fell onto the wall for support. He was so tired and exhausted that he could barely stand. Suddenly Mama came, examining the two guards before approaching him slowly. She seemed almost proud as she reached to cup his head. Eleven let out a small low cries like an injured kitten, but that didn’t affect the woman. 

“_ Incredible _.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


The crew was only late by a few minutes before they continued their search for Georgie. Bill and Beverly walked together, Stan, Ben, and Mike, and lastly Eleven and Richie. They kept a steady pace and all kept their eyes wide open.

“Why did they hurt you?

Eleven and Richie were leading the way. He was looking at Richie with those innocent doe eyes, curious, eying his on his dirt smeared clothes and elbows. Meanwhile Richie didn’t seem too happy with the subject. 

“Cause Bowers is a bastard who hates me,” Richie states.

“Why?” 

“Cause I fucked his mom.” Eleven didn’t understand and just looked at Richie with a blank face. 

“Friends don’t lie.”

“First off, ouch. Second off, who told you that bullshit?” Eleven seemed sad by his response and looked at the ground. It immediately made him feel guilty. Like he’d just kicked a puppy and now the puppy was giving him the sad eyes. 

“I don’t know why he hates. It’s probably because I’m not exactly popular. I’m a loser.” Richie watched the kid nod, his sadness fading. He seemed to accept his answer.

“Richie?”

“Yeah?”

“What is bastard?” 

Aw shit.

“And fuck?”

Double shit.

  



	6. The Body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Officers find the body of one Georgie Denbrough. However, if Georgie is dead, then who is the boy in the radio?

The walk was painstakingly long. 

The kid’s trudged through the barrens, past the quarry where they watched random teens jump off. Eleven didn’t need to say anything for Richie to know what he was thinking. 

“That’s the Quarry. Kids jump from there all the time. Including yours truly on occasion. It’s fun. I might show you once all this shit rolls over.”

They kept walking until dark where the kids found themselves walking a strangely familiar route. Nobody questioned it until they spotted the street signs. They had managed to walk full circle back in town towards Bill’s house. 

When the kids realized this, they stopped in their tracks as Eleven stopped by a gutter. He looked back at the kids as if to say they were here.

“Here.”

“_ Uhhh _ here where? I don’t see him anywhere,” Mike points out, looking around at the dozens of house that probably would’ve seen something if Georgie was here.

“_ Here _.”

“N-No, this is where Georgie went mi-mi-missing from,” Bill told him. The kid’s exchanged glances, all of them saying the same thing. 

“What are we doing here?”

“He says he’s here,” Ben tells Mike. 

“If we walked all the way out of here for nothing—“ Mike didn’t get to finish. He was cut off short by Ben’s loud sigh. Even he who tried to have fate in the lost boy was seeing what his fellow loser was. A mentally ill kid.

“I-I don’t know what th-the heck he’s talking about!” Bill shouted, snapping at all his friends. “Wh-Wh-Where’s Georgie?!” 

“Bill…” Beverly sighed, knowing this would only end in heartbreak. 

“I told you we should have called the cops! Instead we listen to this _ nuthouse, _” Mike sneers with frustration. Eleven looked hurt and confused. Like he was telling them the answer but they didn’t understand. 

“No cops!” Richie responds with.

“Hey guys…?” Stan’s timid voice cut through. He ignored the banter, cutting through again but this time stronger. “_ Guys! _”

The groups eyes left to meet Stan who was pointing off at something in the distance. To their surprise, cop cars and ambulances came speeding down. They watched them go, pulling themselves to the side as they speed past. 

_ “Aw shit…” _

The kid’s didn’t need anybody to tell them to chase after it. Picking up their bikes, they sped off. Unlike the others, Richie let Eleven ride with him instead of leaving him behind.

The pedaled with all their hearts desire, cutting through the crisp night wind. Bill could barely hear himself breathing, let alone feel it. He didn’t care about his strain legs from the quick pedaling or the burning in his lungs. 

All he could think was, don’t let this be Georgie.

The sight of officers and paramedics surrounding the Quarry made Bill sick to his stomach. The slowed down, halting before jumping off. They hid behind an ambulance, peaking around trying to get a better look. 

Officers stood by the lake watching the paramedics fish the body out of water. They bring him to shore and made the call.

“_ It’s the Denbrough’s boy…” _

“It’s not Georgie...It can’t be...,” Bill whispered, tears pricking his eyes as his got a glimpse of the dead body. He shook his head, covering his mouth. He backed away, in disbelief. He didn’t feel the ground underneath. All he could feel was his heart thumping while his hands shook.

“It’s him,” Ben whispered. Bill’s friends surround him, trying to offer their comfort. However the older kid wasn’t having it. He pulled away, grabbing his bike and running. 

“Bill, don’t go,” Mike tried to reason. However there was no reason. All the group could do was call out after him while holding back their own tears. 

“Bill!” Beverly calls out one last time but Bill was already off. They were left behind, feeling an array of emotions.

“_ Richie... _” Eleven reached out to his friend. 

“_Richie?_ _Richie what?!” _Richie smacked the kid’s hand away, his anger seething. He’s never seen so much red. “You were supposed to help us find him alive! You said he was alive!” Richie’s voice crack, tears threatening to fall down his face as he burned red with hot anger.

“Why did you lie? Wh-What is wrong with y-you?!” Richie stepped closer. “What is wrong with you?”

“Richie…” Eleven breathed, his voice quiet and full of pain. He looked conflicted, almost like this wasn’t what he was expecting. Richie should’ve known that the kid was insane. How could he be so blind?

“_ What? _” Richie sharp voice cuts through the air, cutting through the smaller boy. He waits for the other kid to answer, knowing full well he wouldn’t. So when all he got was silence, he stormed off. 

“Come on man, don’t do this!” Mike calls out.

Richie stormed off, leaving his friends to call out for him. 

“_ Rich _...” Stan trailed off as his friend passed him. He wanted to reach out but he wouldn’t move. His body was just frozen as he watched everything crumble in front of him. It was clear, he wasn’t in the mood. He watched his other friend bike away into darkness

  
  


* * *

  
  


Bill was curled up in a ball in his bed, staring out at the window. He watched the wind sway the trees, making the leaves dance as the went down. It was cold in his room, but he didn’t move to get the blanket. He liked the cold. The cold was the only thing keeping him here. 

He listened to the heavy police boots, and the sheriff’s rough voice. “Did you find him?” His mother's pitched voice asked. Her voice full of painful hope that made Bill shudder. A heavy silence filled the house, and almost immediately he knew what was being said next. He clutched the toy turtle, holding it to his chest. 

_ “NOOO! MY BABY! IT CAN’T BE!” _

His mother's sharp wails pierced through the house. There was a thud, telling him his mother collapsed onto the ground in agony. 

“_ I am so sorry Sharon and Zack, but it’s him… _”

Bill couldn’t control his tears. He let out a heartbreaking cry, tears dripping. He gripped tightly onto the turtle, imaging Georgie walking into his room with his cute innocent smile telling him to come play or tell him more about boats. That was gone. He wasn’t part of some conspiracy, he was dead.

_ Georgie is dead _.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Eleven was fiddling with the old walkie talkie. 

He moved through channels, making static noises. It kept changing and it quickly became annoying.

“Can you stop?” Richie asked. 

Eleven glanced up, his eyes meeting the dark figure’s isolated frame as he tried to focus on the comic book in his hands. He looked back down at the radio, completely ignoring him as he tried to focus. 

“Are you _ deaf? _” Richie snaps. “I thought we were friends! What happened to the friends don’t lie bullshit? I thought they told each other the truth!” Eleven looked up at the other kid, with a sorrowful expression. “You had us go one some stupid goose chase! All for what?” There was no response. “Man, maybe you really are psychotic.”

Richie huffed, packing up his stuff to go join his friends upstairs who were trying to talk to Bill. Since he wasn’t good with the whole emotional talks, they sent him down here to watch Charles Xavior over there sitting in his stupid tent. Stupid. He made it about halfway across the basement when something cut through the static.

“_ It’s raining, it’s pouring....~” _

Richie turned around, wide eyed. He stared at the kid with disbelief as he listens to the almost animated voice come to life. It echoed, and drawled out. He could hear what sounded like splashing in the background and faint sound of eerie children laughing in the back. 

“_ My dinner is crawling...” _

Harsh ragged breaths escape him as he listened. It was like listening to this triggered something inside of him. The ringing screams vibrating in his ears, and his thumping of heart banged his chest like a rushing train. His fingers curled into a fist, nails digging into his palm. He couldn't hear his own rapid breathing, but he could feel the oxygen flooding in and out of his lungs.

_ “He kept stalling and couldn’t find a way out…” _

The voice grew farther and more distorted, as if it was drifting away like a leaf in the rain. Richie felt cold. So cold. 

_ “And then he wouldn’t get to see the morning.” _

There was sobbing, it was getting louder. Richie stepped closer, feeling his adrenaline spike. He took a step forward, then another. As he got closer the cries became more distinct. Soon he was practically in Eleven’s face.

“_ I w-wanna go home… _” Richie drew in his breath, feeling his heart coming to a sudden stop. It was Georgie. He recognized the voice almost immediately despite the events he's witnessed. He was alive...but something was with him. Something evil, his mind added. 

Together they sat in silence, Richie was in disbelief. He took the radio, examining it before saying, “_ Holy shit! _Georgie?! Georgie, it that you?!” 

There was nothing but static now. It echoed through the room leaving a pit in his stomach. He looked up at Eleven. “Was that-_ is it- _?” Richie didn’t finish his sentence. 

Eleven’s nose dripped with a familiar red, but he nodded. A small nod of confirmation was all he needed. Something to tell him he didn’t just hallucinate and trip balls just seconds ago.

“_ Georgie _.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“The fu-funeral is t-tomorrow.” Bill tells the crew.

They all sat in sympathetic silence, nobody to talk over the grieving boy. “We’ll be there,” Beverly told him, rubbing his shoulder. Ben watched the two interact, glancing away when he felt like he was being weird. 

“Thanks B-Beverly…” Bill shot her a forced smile, one that didn’t meet his eyes. 

Suddenly the door flew open with a very wound up Richie behind it. “Guys! You won’t believe this!” 

“No-Not now Ri-Richie,” Bill shook his head, not wanting to move from his seat on the bed. Riche jumped over the bed, standing in front of Bill with wide eyes. 

“I’m not messing around! It’s about Georgie!” 

“His fu-funeral-”

“Screw his funeral!” Beverly slapped his arm, looking angry at while the other groan. She wanted to punch him but that didn’t phase him. He stood his ground.

“He spoke! I heard him!”

The gang looked unamused, as if he was making this up to be funny. Why would he joke at such a deep moment? He’s not that fucked up. While Bill had this blank look, like his words were bouncing off him.

“Even Eleven heard it!” Richie exclaims, pointing to the quiet boy. 

“_ Well, if the Psycho heard it… _” Mike mumbled.

Richie glared daggers at the boy. 

“Richie...this isn’t funny-” 

“I’m not trying to be! He’s alive! I know what I heard! He was crying in the radio! Eleven was channeling him or something!” Gazes fell onto the boy in the tent. He was holding the same radio. 

“Then show us,” Ben speaks up. 

Eleven switched gazes between the group. He knew what he was asking and what they wanted. However he couldn’t give it to them. It took a lot of energy and to achieve what they want, they needed something bigger. 

“It won’t work!” RIchie tells them, almost like he read Eleven’s mind. “We need a stronger radio! We have to get him to a stronger radio, then we can find Georgie!”

Eyes all fell onto Stan, who for the most part was silent during this whole ordeal. He looked around confused for a moment. “Why are you all look at me…?” 

“Well, doesn’t that stupid AV club of yours have that big radio?”

“Yeah, what about it….” Stan glanced at his friends who all looked at him with a weird look on their face. When the realization hit him, he shot up. “No way! Absolutely not!”

“Come on! It’ll help us find Georgie!”

Stan looked on the verge of panic. He started fiddling with his hands, and sweating bullets.This caused Richie to roll his eyes. 

“Come on Stan! Quite being a baby! Georgie is alive and we need that radio to find him!” Richie exclaims. “When are you gonna man up?” He watched the kid squirm, having an internal battle within himself. It was like watching a whole war go down inside a person’s head.

Stan lets out a hesitant sigh. “How are we supposed to sneak him in without anyone noticing when he clearly looks like a very disturbed individual! Look at him!” Sure it wasn’t the meanest thing he’s said, but it still threw him off balance to hear his fellow loser raise his voice. 

“Leave that part to me,” Beverly states, giving a very determined look. 

“Bill? Are you in?” Eyes fell onto Bill who stood in the background wearing a blank face. For a moment there was this just this nerve racking silence. Nobody spoke, awaiting the final confirmation.

Bill fiddled with the toy turtle in his hand, feeling every bump and curve. It didn’t take him long to make his choice. In fact, once Richie opened his mouth to say his brother was alive somewhere he was in. Maybe it was just him wanting to believe his brother was alive, and couldn’t cope with the reality of the trauma or whatever--but if there was a chance that this was real then it means Georgie is out there and needs him to find him. 

“_ Let’s do this. _” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Beverly sat across from Eleven, holding her makeup kit in one hand. She dipped her brush inside the warm colors, tapping it on the edge, and holding it up towards the kids face. When the brush hits the kid’s face he jumps back, surprised by the softness of it. When Bev went in again, he sat still though admittedly looked uncomfortable.

“Is this a wig?” Ben asked, pulling out a blond wig from Bev’s bag. His nose was scrunched up in confusion. 

“Isn’t dressing him up as a girl gonna draw people's attention?” 

“We’re not going to dress him up as a girl,” Beverly states, applying blush to the other cheek. “We’re gonna fix the wig later.” Pretty soon after that, Eleven went into the bathroom with Beverly to finish the rest of his transformation. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Richie and Bill waited outside while the rest prepared for school. Trashmouth didn’t even hear the door open behind him until he noticed Bill’s almost gobsmacked expressions. He followed his friend’s gaze where he met the eyes of same tent boy he knew, however his looks were different. Very different. He had short blond hair, thanks to the wig, cut in a way so he had a quiff going on. His outfit consisted of a bright pink polo shirt and white shorts along with a blue fanny pack clamped around his waist. His socks were knee high, and complemented with a pair of white converses that practically blended in.

“W-Wow...yo-you lo-look-”

“Pretty…” Richie blurts out.

Eleven smiled.

“Huh?” Bill’s face scrunched up in confusion, wondering if he really just heard that. Maybe he heard wrong?

“Uh-I mean shitty! You look shitty!” Richie’s face turned a tinted red as he adjusted his glasses, turning his face purposely away from Bill. 

“Smooth Tozier, _ smooth, _” Beverly mouthed from behind Eleven.

“Wh-What’s wi-with the f-fanny p-p-pack?” Bill asked, pointing to Eleven’s odd choice of waist accessories. Beverly nodded to the real life dressed up ken doll. It was cute. Like dressing up a puppy.

“He picked it out.”

Eleven walked past the boys towards a mirror. He stared at the reflection with almost like a longing look in his eyes. He touched his fake hair, brushing his fingers gently across it. Richie walked into view from behind him, watching him. His eyes were wide, he was staring.

  


“_ Pretty... _,” Eleven tells him, smiling, “...shitty.”

Beverly just watched the interaction feeling a slick smile form with her lips. Meanwhile Bill was watching, oblivious. He shot his friend a questioning look.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Bev told him, patting his shoulder.

  



	7. Can you hear me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Georgie is that you?

_ “Report to the gymnasium now. Do not attempt to skip third period…” _

  
  


Stan was on a mission. A mission he really didn’t want to be on. He shook his head, muttering all sorts of curse words under his breath. He knew how bad this was and hated the adrenaline pumping feeling he got. 

When the AV club’s door was in sight, he jumped on it, trying to pull it open. It wouldn’t move. “It’s locked!” He whispered, his voice cracking. They were gonna get caught, they were gonna get caught, they were gonna get caught-

“What?!” Mike looked at the door with disbelief. 

“How about you pop this door open with your mind powers?” Richie asked 

Eleven was about to do his thing when suddenly they heard, “Stan?” They all spin around. There stood the science teacher aka AV club leader, looking straight at them. “Or Stan and friends seem more appropriate.”

Stan looks like he was about to have a mental break down.

“The assembly is about to start…”   
  


“I’m sorry, w-we thought we could use this space to...be alone.” Beverly gave a faint nod to Bill, who just stood there speechless. 

“I know this is hard, but...let's try to be there for Georgie. After the assembly, you guys can come in here all you want for the rest of the day.” Before Stan could catch his racing heart, he had keys thrown at him. Unfortunately he was too slow to catch them so they landed on the ground. He scrambled to get them. Once in his hands, the crew was about to make their way to the gym.

“Oh I don’t believe we’ve met!” The crew froze. They turned to see Eleven being stopped by the teacher mid-walk, standing with a clueless look. “What’s your name?”

_ “Eleven-” _

“Edguardo!” Richie suddenly shouts a bit too loudly, making the teacher jump. It “He’s Bill’s cousin…” 

“Ye-Yeah  _ Edguardo _ ...my co-cousin-SECOND co-cousin! He’s he-here for the funeral.” Beverly facepalm, wishing for a moment she was anywhere else.

“Well, welcome to Darry. Wish you were here under better circumstances..”

‘Thank you,” Eleven tells him, glancing at the gang. 

“Where you from, exactly?”

“Bad place…” Eleven shook his head. Immediately Richie jumped to say, “Sweden! He hates it there! Too cold, yah know?” The teacher just nodded, accepting the strange answer and behavior before leading the way to the gym. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“ _ At times like these, it is important we come together as a group- _ ”

The gym doors swung open, echoing through the school. All the kids turned along with the staff in a single moment. Their eyes landed on the Loser’s Club who stood at the door awkwardly.

“I-Is it too late to run away?” Stan asks.

The group took their respective seats, only half listening to the spectacle in front of them. They watched the fake tears, thinking that all of this bullshit considering none of them even knew Georgie or Bill. It was getting under their skin. 

They didn’t even know him until they pulled his not body out of the lake. Just like Bill, he was invisible until this. Now he’s known as the dead kid’s brother. Now everybody stares at him like he was carrying some infectious diseases, too fragile to even breath on. 

_ “Who is even interested in this shit? God this is so stupid...” _

Bill’s gaze looked into the crowd, examining dozens of students. Laughter echoes and suddenly his eyes land on a familiar group of teens. Bowers gang.

“ _ Blah, blah, blah… _ ” Bower’s taunted, smiling. “ _ Oh he’s gonna leave a hole in community! Oh no!” _

“Bastard…” Eleven mumbles.

Bill felt his anger burn deep as the assembly went on. He was half listening until the bell rang. Nobody could stop Bill from approaching Bower’s in a fit of anger. “He-Hey B-Bowers!” The other teen barely got to turn around before Bill raised his hands and shoved him on the ground. 

The gang gasped, except for RIchie, who cheered instead.

_ “You’re dead Denbrough! DEAD!” _

Bowers moved to punch but halfway froze. Bill looked at the teen confused as to why he stopped. He saw the bully look around, his wide. Confused, Bill looked down to see a stream form on the bullies pants. 

Bower’s just peed himself.

“Dude! Bowers just pissed his pants!” Richie points out, exploding into a fit of laughter. The other students followed suit. Soon the whole school was laughing.

Bill turned around to see Eleven glaring at the bully with a stream of red down his nose. He looked back at him and smiled before wiping his nose and turning away. 

“What’s going on here?!”

“Oh shit!” Richie and the others bolted towards the exit. 

Loser Club:  _ 1 _

Bowers:  _ 0 _

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The kids were in the small closet of a room, Eleven in the middle in front of the radio, and the others behind him. Mike locked the door while Stan prepared the machine. He tried to explain how it worked but half way was cut off by Eleven who closed his eyes, effectively ending his long rant. 

The Loser’s took a step back while Eleven jumped right in with the ocean of sharks.

“ _ Begin _ .” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

Eleven was in a room. Testing room. Mama was there. He was in a chair, connected to the machine that helped Mama. His eyes were closed, he had to focus.

“Eleven, r _ epeat the words… _ ”

Eleven had to do what Mama asks. So he listened. He listens to the man’s scratchy voice recite words given to him. 

Mama repeated the order. To repeat the words.

Eleven felt his head squeeze, like his skull was suffocating his brain. The stinging pain only grew stronger and harder to deal with. 

The lights shut off. 

The loudspeaker came to life, static filling the silence. A familiar voice cut through, saying, “ _ Balloon, Spider, Red, Game… _ ”    
  


* * *

  
  
  


_ He found it. _

  
  


“He’s doing it…He’s actually finding him!”

Richie listened to the static change, almost in disbelief. Sure he believed Eleven could do it, but he was still surprised. He heard Mike scoff. 

“Calm down, he just closed his eyes.”

Then the lightbulb exploded. The room was now dark, their only source of light being the radio. There was banging. Like something big was stomping around. The sound knocked all the air out of Stan, who was in the back, staring at the radio like it suddenly grew legs and a head.

“W-What is that?” He asked, breathless in fear. Nobody answered him.

“ _ Oh why’d you go so soon? _ ” A voice cuts through the banging. It sounds innocent, with a darkness embedded inside. It was almost like a costume, masking the real horror. “ _ I’m sorry for hurting you. I promise I won’t do it again. Just come out, and we can play! Don’t you wanna play too? _ ” 

There was a pause. Then more banging. It sounded distant yet more rapid and exasperated. Soon it was far enough that it wasn’t in earshot anymore.

“T-That’s the same voice I heard last time,” Richie whispers. 

There was someone crying. It wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either. It was like somebody was trying not to cry. 

Bill’s breath hitched, his eyes widening. He knew those cries. Of course he would, he hears it all the time. When Georgie had a nightmare, fell and hurt himself, and even when kids teased him. It was his brother. He was crying. WIthout a second thought, he pushed past his friends and grabbed the mic. “ _ Georgie! _ ” He exclaimed, relief and worry in his voice. “Ge-Georgie, I-I’m he-here!” 

There was a moment of silence where nothing but the sound of dripping water in the background. 

“ _ Billy! _ ” There was a small splash like there was a body of water that was suddenly splashed as somebody stood up. “ _ Billy, is that you? _ ”

“I-It’s me, Ge-Georgie!” Bill was practically crying into the microphone. 

“ _ Where are y-you? _ ” His voice was getting weaker. Like he was getting further away. “ _ I wanna go home now! I-It’s so d-dark and scary down here! _ ” Georgie voice sent a knife into his brother’s voice. He sounded so frightened. So terrified. 

“Where are you, Georgie? Tell me how to find you!” Bill clinged onto the radio desprestly, holding it close to him. 

“ _ He took me away Bill! I lost your boat! I’m so sorry! _ ” Georgie tells them. “ _ Please don’t be mad Bill! _ ”

“I-I’m not ma-mad at you. I-I just want to fi-find you! O-Okay Georgie?” Bill couldn’t control his tears, feeling them slid down his cheek. “But I-I need you to te-tell me whe-where you are!” Then without any warning, a cold breeze hit the Losers causing them to look up. Right before their eyes, the school wall crack, splitting open. 

“HOLY SHIT!” Richie exclaimed, backing away from the radio and Eleven. The floor rumbled under their feet, like an earthquake. They could barely keep their head up. “What the fuck is that?!” 

“ _ Oh my god… _ ” Stan was frozen in disbelief. His mouth gaped like a fish. 

Eleven suddenly let out inhales sharply. His head flying up towards the ceiling, as if he was looking up. 

The loser’s eyes widen. Richie tried to reach out but was thrown back, as the walls across the room cracked. Instead he called out his friend's name, hoping he’d heard.

The wall separated like some sort of hidden room revealing a tunnel. It was dark and water dripped from the walls. They could even smell the filthy trash inside. “Is he doing that?!” Mike asks, backing up into the wall along with his other Losers. Eleven’s eyes were still closed, his eyebrows knitted, his breathing was heavy and quick, blood dripping from both nostrils.

Bill didn’t move, he just stared at the gigantic hole while clutching to the mic. 

Suddenly from out of the shadows, something caught their eye. A bright yellow figure coming towards them. Everyone stared, unable to say anything. The figure drew closer, revealing Georgie. He was walking towards them in his yellow raincoat and boots. He was covered in dirt and his raincoat torn with dried blood. 

“Georgie!” Billy calls out, dropping the mic. It broke on the floor as he jumped over the table towards his brother. 

“ _ Billy! _ ” Georgie ran towards him, his little feet splashing in the water. 

Billy tried to run to him, but he couldn’t. There was a wall. A wall keeping him from him. He sank to his knees as his brother reached him. His small hands touching the barrier. His hands touched where Georgie’s were. He was crying. 

“ _ I found you. _ ”

The walls of the tunnel trembled, a manic laugh echoes in the dark, growing closer by the second. 

_ “He’s coming, Billy!”  _ Georgie cries, erupting into a hysterical cry. “ _ He’s coming! _ ” 

“Oh shit…” Richie mutters under his breath. He shook his head, watching the scene unfold in front of him.

“Tell me wh-where you are! H-How d-do I get to y-you?!” Bill banged his hands on the barrier, cursing to whatever higher power was out there for letting this happen. He wished he was there instead of Georgie. That whatever was chasing him would take him instead. 

_ “It’s so dark-dark and empty! It’s so cold!” _ Georgie cries.  _ “I wanna go back home! Take me home!” _

In the back a pair of yellow eyes watched, in its eyes it smiled. It was getting closer. It’s laughter echoing as it grew nearer. It’s footsteps were children’s laugher. 

“Lis-Listen to me! I sw-swear to you that I-I’m gonna co-come and get you!” Georgie’s sobs got louder as he shook his head. “ _ Don’t leave me Billy! _ ” 

Bill shook his head, banging on the barrier with all but it did nothing. He couldn’t control his shaky body. “Never...I’ll never leave you,” He says, shaking his head, “But listen to me, I need you to run! I will find you, but you have to run!”

The eyes were closer, too close for comfort. It wore a grin as it inched towards his baby brother with hungry eyes. The children's laughter was booming, filling his ears. 

Georgie’s gaze ripped away from Bill’s to face the clown like figure. He could hear his brother’s shaky sobs and trembling feet in the water.

“RUN!”

He watched his brother take off speeding. 

It’s gaze followed the child but it didn’t chase him just yet. It looked at the spying kids, still smiling.

“Don’t worry Bill,” It told him, “Soon you’ll be able to float, just like Georgie will!” 

Bill felt his stomach flip, churning. His skin goes ice cold and his breathing stops. He couldn’t feel his hands, he felt like he was floating. 

“See you soon, Billy. Oh and your little friends too!” 

The crack in the wall began to close. Bill stood, banging his fists on the wall. “Don’t y-you to-touch him!” He screams. He bangs, trying to break through but the door to Georgie was gone. It was gone, just like Georgie.

“Come g-get me y-you coward!” Bill screaming, trying to ram his shoulder where the window was. 

“Bill stop!” Beverly shouts. 

Bill didn’t stop. He kept trying. Georgie was just here. He just spoke to him! He needed him! That thing was chasing him. He screamed.

“Stop!” Ben and Mike launched at him, pulling him away. 

“Georgie! I’m c-coming! I-I sw-swear!” Bill cries. 

Eleven suddenly gasps sharply, his eyes flying open. The radio catches in flames, exploding. Richie grabbed his shoulder, turning him around in a single fluid moment. He looked into his eyes, noticing the amount of blood falling and the drained look on his face. 

“Fuck, are you okay?” Richie asks.    
  


Eleven didn’t respond, just blink. It was the only thing he could do. “Help him!” Richie yells at Stan. 

Together they ran out of the room, dragging Bill away and carrying Eleven who effectively passed out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a big oof.


	8. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven makes a horrible mistake.

“Maybe he’s like in another dimension or something! That’s why he was in the wall!”

“No Mike, that’s stupid,” Richie scoffs, “It’s obviously an alien spaceship!” Again, nobody laughed. They all sat in a silent circle, processing the events that just transpired while Eleven slept in his tent. 

“Georgie said it was dark and cold…” Mike mumbles, deep in thought. “Did he say cold?”

“I don’t know, the fucking killer clown distracted me!”

“He’s probably was inside Bower’s basement with all the neighborhood cats.” Richie tries to lift the tension of the situation. However his wording wasn’t exactly the best, just like the joke which earned him a smack. 

“When Eleven took us to find Georgie, he took us to the place where he disappeared, right?” Ben was onto something, holding his head up. He looked at the crew, with an almost eureka moment. 

“Yeah, but he wasn’t there,” Mike says.

“What if he was though but we couldn’t see him!” Everyone looked confused. “What if he was, down below? Like underground?” 

“It would be dark and cold.” Mike agrees.

“But where underground would he be?” Beverly asks. “We can’t just go to the sewers without knowing where exactly he is!”

“Are you kidding me?!” Stan shoots up, his voice cracking. “We can’t go. Period! Did you not see what I see?!” There was no heat in his voice, just fear. He never argued with his fists but his words packed a powerful punch. It made the kids pause and think. Carefully spoken, without drama, his words had an air of finality to them and no matter how hard anybody railed against him, nothing would change his mind for fear was a powerful motivation. “We go down, we die!” 

“If we don’t, Georgie dies!” Beverly fights back. Unlike the others, she wasn’t succumbing to fear. She didn’t want to be helpless again.

“Then we tell an adult! All I know is we’re kids! Kids don’t fight monsters in the sewers and live!” Nobody responded. Nobody pushed. They knew, deep down, Stan was right. They stood no chance. They were losers.

“Yo-you don’t have t-to go.” Bill was by the stairs. He heard everything. “B-But I’m g-going to go look fo-for Georgie.”

“Me too,” Beverly nods. 

The others hesitate before standing. No way would they let their friend go in blind without backup. Stan who was against it, was outnumbered. He paced around, but ultimately his loyalty was with his friends.

“But how are we gonna find him?” Richie asks. 

All eyes fell onto Eleven who was now wide awake standing behind them. His wig was messy but still had the regular clueless look on his face.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“What do you mean  _ ‘no’ _ ?!”

  
  


Eleven was in the center of everyone's attention, sat in the tall grass while everyone was sitting in front of him. Out off all the things he could do, he couldn’t find Georgie. 

“How do you know about the clown but not where he is?!” Mike asked, trying to make sense of it all. 

The crew cursed under their breaths, feeling their hope dwindle. 

Bill had picked that time to join them, with a confident look on his face as he closed the garage door behind him.

“L-Let’s g-go.”

Beverly was about to break the news when suddenly Stan stood up. His eyes were wide and looked scared shitless but in his eyes, there was a spark. Bravery. Nobody is sure where it came from, but it was there.

“I-I have an idea!”

  
  
  


* * *

“How did you know about Ben’s weird obsession?”

“I didn’t…” Stan answers with a shrug. 

“It’s not my fault I’m interested in this stuff...it’s all I had to do before I meet you guys.” Ben shrugs. He ignored the bored and strange glances. “Did you know Darry used to be a beaver trap?”

“Still is! Am I right boys?” Richie waited for a high five but it never happened. So instead he grabbed Eleven’s hand and forced him to hive five him. Then he pretended to shake it off like he was slightly embarrassed.

“Why are we here?” Mike asked.

“C-Cause Ben sa-said he has a ma-map,” Bill tells him as Ben picks up a slide. 

“Why would we need that?” Beverly asks.

“If I were killer clown, I’d want to hide where no person could ever find me. So if he’s in the sewers, he has to be where nobody ever goes.”

“-And nobody goes into the old sewers system because most of it is no longer in use. It’s blocked off,” Mike finishes. Everyone turns to look at their fellow loser, raising a brow. The boy shrugs.

“I’ve had my fair share of running in the sewers, beats facing Bowers and airhead possie.” The nod in understanding before moving on. 

“I-I’ve got a m-m-map at home and a pro-projector.”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“So that’s Darry?”

“Yup.” Everyone stared at the man, taking in how much sewer system there is. How easy it must’ve been to get lost down there. He felt bad for the idotic people who went down there by mistake. Kinda like how they were gonna go.

“Okay...and this is the old Darry.” Bill tried to flip the switch to turn it on, but it didn’t seem to work. There was no projection to be looked at, like he hadn’t tried to turn it on this whole time. He tried again but only got the same results.

“Maybe it’s broken?” Stan asks, deep down cheering.

“Or maybe you guys are doing it wrong! Let me try!” Richie stood up to help, but everyone shouted no. 

“You’ll just break it! Just like how you broke my tv when you were trying to fix it!”

“Hey, at least you got a new tv! So maybe you should thank me!” Richie tells Stan.

“You set it on fire! We could’ve died!” 

“But we didn’t!” Richie exclaims. 

Bill banged on the side of the projector, trying to get it to work. Somehow that caused the projector to fall on the floor. The kids jumped, backing away. Strangely that seemed to make it turn on. Ben and Mike grabbed it, setting it back in place. 

“There…”    
  


The group examined the Bill’s map of the sewer system.

“How do we know which one is THE one?” Mike asks. 

“Whichever has access to the sewer gutter that Georgie was taken from…” Beverly pieces together. 

Bill put an  _ ‘x’ _ on the sewer drain. He nodded towards Mike, who put another frame in the projector. He moved to put it on screen when it suddenly jammed. 

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Richie looks at Mike.

Suddenly without warning the projector flipped out, switching off and the map fell, hanging sideways. Bill groans, trying to find out why it won’t stay when they hear Mike says, “I can’t believe it…”

“Be-Believe what?” Bill asks, momentarily looking up from the machine to his friend who was approaching Eleven with a weird wary walk. It was like a moment where a wife finds her husband doing something he wasn’t supposed to do and is walking towards them with that angry walk. 

Mike suddenly grabbed Eleven’s arm, yanking it. “I knew it!” There was blood on his hand, fresh blood. Eleven looked like a child who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar. 

“Leave him alone, Mike!” Richie stands. 

“Th-that’s old bl-blood, right?”

Eleven shook his head. Tears were forming before the hard part even happened. It only made the others to draw to the same conclusion.

“Not safe,” He whispers.

“No! He’s been playing us from the beginning! Think about it, he knew about the clown and lied about finding him!” Mike shouts, standing in Eleven’s face. The betrayal added knives into the loser’s and Eleven’s relationship. 

“Calm down! Both of you!” Beverly exclaims, trying to bring peace. “Maybe there's an explanation!” 

“He helped just enough to get what he wants! Food and a bed!” Mike says. “He knows where Georgie is and now he’s gonna let him die in the sewers!”

Bill looked betrayed at the thought, like he couldn’t process what he was hearing. Beverly glanced at her friend then at the arguing boys, trying to think of a way for this to stop but nothing. She was helpless. She hated that feeling.

“Shut up!” Richie’s face was turning red. Red with anger.

“For all we know, it’s his fault!” Mike points at Seven. “We’ve been looking for some stupid monster but do you ever stop to think maybe he’s the monster?” 

Suddenly without a warning, Richie threw his fist, hitting Mike straight across the face. Stan gasped, standing up and stepping back from the fighting boys. 

“Stop it!” Eleven cries.

“Knock it off you idiots!” Beverly shouts.

Out of instinct, Mike tackled the other boy and both of them fell to the ground wrestling. Everyone was trying to tell them to stop.  _ “Stop it!” _ Eleven shouts. However his cries fell on deaf ears. Then he did the only thing he could do.

Eleven let out a deep gut curling scream as he flung Mike off Richie causing him to hit his head on the wall and pass out. Imminently all the anger and fear vanished as they rushed to their friend.

“Holy shit! Mike! Are you okay?!” Richie exclaims, picking up his now broken glasses and rushing over. They were all trying to wake him up but it was no use. 

Richie turned to look at Seven, his anger boiling. 

“Why would you do that?!” Richie screams. “What’s wrong with you?!”

Eleven cries helplessly. He ruined everything. He hurt Richie and his friends. All because of him.    
  


_ He is the monster _ .

Suddenly the projector switched back on. For a moment, Bill could see the sewers. It was outlined in red making it more visible. Though a bit off center, he could see for a brief moment what they were looking for. Unfortunately before anyone else could see, the frame changes, it was his Mister Denbrough and Georgie at a baseball game. Georgie’s baseball game.

It changes. 

Then again. 

And again. 

The photos, changing every second. Like it was searching. Searching for something.    
  


“The well house,” Bill whispers.

Stan gulps, feeling terror eat at him.

“Isn’t that where all the junkies and hobos meet?” Richie questions, his voice shaking unsure what that crack house has to do with right now as he watched the photos flicker by.

“Yeah, it’s own by some stupid company called, Darry’s Department of Energy,” Stan replies, speaking fast and his voice consinously getting higher. “It was founded by-”

The photo’s stop. Then it stopped on a photo. It was Georgie with Mom and Dad, Bill realizes. 

Stan looked like he was about to have a stroke.

“What’s going on?!” Beverly asked. 

“Make it stop!” Stan backs away. “Bill, m-make it stop!”

The photo zooms in on Georgie, his face smiling like always before moving onto his mother. The wind was strong that day and her face was covered by her long brunette locks. As the photo kept zooming in, her hair began to move. It was slow and hard to tell but it was his mom’s face. As it kept movie, it changed. There was no longer his mom’s soft pale skin but painted white. Her face no longer her own, but of the clown. The clown that had Georgie.

“What the fuck!” Richie screams.

“I’ve got it!” Beverly stomps on the projector, while Ben unplugged it. However it didn’t stop. It kept getting closer and closer until her whole face was just a smiling clown. Then it suddenly stopped, the clown no longer in the picture leaving the background blank.

“Is it over?” Stan asks, his voice quiet.

As if one cue, the projector flickered once more. When it came back, there was an enormous clown in the middle of the garage with razor sharp teeth and an animalistic glare in its eyes. The kids screamed, running away, meanwhile Richie and Bill were dragging Mike to safety. Unfortunately for him, he awoke just as he was being pulled away he was greeted with the snarling clown that was crawling towards them. Without wasting a second he was up and screaming as well and running. It growled at Beverly, who was pushed back into a corner. Ben screamed her name but she was frozen. 

It reached for her and she covered her eyes.

Then the room filled with light revealing the demon clown to be gone. As if it wasn’t there at all. 

“Holy fucking shit!” Richie swore, looking around for any sign of the clown they saw.

Without any warning the other door inside Bill’s house flew open revealing his father, who stared at the mess wide eye. The kids screamed, surprised by the loud bang of the door. They backed away only to realize it was Mister Denbrough. 

“What the hell happened here?!” He exclaims in disbelief as he picked up the leftover pieces of his projector. The photos scattered, and lense broken.

“I-It wa-was a cl-clown! It ca-came ou-out of the pro-proj-”

“A clown?” His father didn’t sound concerned. Instead he sounded pissed. Like the thought of his son being scared out of his wits wasn’t strange or alarming. 

“He wa-was right th-there!” Bill exclaims, pointing to where he saw it. “I sa-saw him! He’s th-the one wh-who t-t-took Georgie-”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear it! Georgie is dead! You missed the funeral! Do you have any idea-”

“He’s no-not d-d-dead!” Bill squeaks. “H-He’s in th-the sew-sewers! I sa-saw him!”

“No Bill. He’s dead. We buried him!” His father scoffed. “I can’t believe you…”

“Mister Denbrough, its true!” Beverly speaks up. “We saw it! It had sharp teeth and-”

“Don’t lie for him.” His father tone was sharp, cutting the air from Bill’s lungs. Like the life inside him was being blown away. “The sooner you accept your brother is gone, the better! There’s no bringing him back! Now put all this stuff away and go upstairs!”

“Bu-But I ha-have pr-proof! El-Eleven showed m-me! He ch-channeled Georgie and-” Richie looked at his friend wide eyed, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He tried to grab Bill to stop him but it was too late. The damage had been done. 

“Eleven?” His father’s eyebrows knitted. 

“Just le-let me sh-show you-” Bill looked for their friend but he was nowhere to be found. His father on the other hand doesn’t even look worried he looks exhausted. Like having a kid now was tiring and inconvenient. “ _ Eleven? _ ” The gang looked amongst each other, realizing their strange friend was gone. Bill deflated, feeling like an idiot in front of his father.

“Jesus Bill, can’t you stop lying for once!” His father yells. Bill didn’t respond, a lump formed in his throat, restricting him from talking. He blinked, knowing that he was shedding tears in front of his friends.  “Your mother is having trouble coping and here you are making a mess and lying! Can’t you behave? It’s time you move on! Georgie is dead! Deal with it like a man!”

“ _ Bill. _ ” Beverly whispered, planting a hand on his shoulder. 

“ _ No _ .” Bill’s voice was solid. “I’m gonna keep looking for Georgie,” He states. “I’m gonna find him and bring him home because nobody else will!”

“Go to your room.” His father was cold and forbidding. He was no longer the nice father he once had that actually loved his kids. Bill shook his head. 

“No! He’s alive! I spoke to him! He needs me!” 

“No, he’s three feet under the ground!” His father shouts. His hands shaking with anger and frustration. He ignored him.    
  


“Y-Your wrong!”

“Stop it! I don’t want to hear about your crazy theories! Georgie is dead! Stop living with your head in the clouds! I want you to forget about all this and just-” 

“Just what? Move on? Just like you did?” Bill’s voice cracked. “How am I supposed to move on when part of my family is gone! That may be easy for you but not for me! He’s gone and it’s my fault!” There was silence and Bill took that as a sign to go. He left his bag and stormed off, running down the stairs leaving his father alone. “I won’t give up on him! He’s scared and alone and hurt! He’s out there and you can’t stop me from finding him!”

Bill suddenly storms out, grabbing his bike and made a choice.

He chose Georgie.

“Wow, he didn’t stutter once,” Richie points out, adjusting his glasses. “Bill!” His father shouts after him. The losers took that as their cue to follow.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


_ “How far Mama?” _

_ “Farther than we’ve ever gone.” _

_ “The Bath?” _

_ “Yes…” _

Eleven stands in the abyss, the middle, the dark. He’s alone. He’s searching. He’s listening. He hears. Mama is listening. He made sure of it. 

Cold.

Eleven feels cold.

He’s listening to the tall man, he’s talking. It’s important. Something else catches his attention. A low growl. The man fades as Eleven turns around.

“ _ What’s that? _ ”

Eleven goes towards the noise, seeing three bright lights floating. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right. He followed the lights. The closer he got, the harder it was to look. It burned his eyes. They were so pretty yet eerie. 

Eleven reaches out, his fingers brushing upon the light. 

Then it changed. It’s light was swallowed by a creature bigger than him. It screamed, and so did he. 

Eleven banged on the window of the tank, his cries desperate.

There was only red. The walls in the lab crumbled as scientists fled. The world shook for a moment as the crack spread, the wall dissolving. People fled.

  
  


The gate was open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn took me forever to post this.

**Author's Note:**

> This story will follow Stranger things cannon to a certain point and eventually will pan out into something different that the show we all know and love. There might be a squeal depending if you all like this book when I finish. 
> 
> Some points to add before we move on, the gate won’t be a major part in this story now. Basically at some point I will derail from canon so the story could make more sense but won’t fully forget canon. 
> 
> Eddie’s powers are basically the same except for some added shit. 
> 
> Reddie isn’t gonna be instant like in the show. It’s kinda a slow burn considering the time and shit. Richie needs to sort himself out before he can love Eddie.
> 
> Eddie is too precious for this world.
> 
> Anyways thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoy!


End file.
